CHRISTIAN RESEARCHES 

IN 



ASIA: 
WITH NOTICES 

OF THE 

TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES 

INTO THE 



" And I saw another Angel fly in the midst of Heaven, having the 
"\ EVE RLASTING GOSPEL to preach unto them that dwell on the 
" Earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." 

Rev. xiv, 6, 



BY THE 

Rev. CLAUDIUS BUCHANAN, D. D. 

LATE VICE-PROVOST OP THE COLLEGE OF FORT WILLIAM 
IN BENGAL, AND MEMBER OF THE ASIATIC 
SOCIETY. 



FOURTH EDITION. 



LONDON: 

Printed by G, Smmr, Northumberland-street; 
FOR T, CADELL AND W. DAVIBS, IN THE STRAND, 

1811. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction — The College of Fort- William § 

The Chinese , , jq 

The Hindoos \ # ^ 

Juggernaut 19 

Proceedings of the East India Company, concerning 

Juggernaut 33 

Immolation of Females a9 

Hindoo Infanticide g 46 

Letters of King George I. to the Missionaries 60 

Tranquebar "J 1 65 

Tanjore t-- \][ 7Q 

Tritchinopoly t ^ ^ 

Versions of the Scriptures for the Hindoos 82 

The Shanscrit School 85 

The Ceylonese g 9 

The Malays 96 

The Syrian Christians in India 106 

Reading the Scriptures to the People favourable to 

the perpetuity of a Church 1 22 

The Malabar Bible m# U2 

Syriac Bible , ....... ] 143 

Romish Christians in India „,.•#•## t 145 



CONTENTS 



Page 

inquisition at Goa 150 

Versions of the Scriptures for the Romish Christians 176 

The Persians , 179 

The Arabians . 188 

The Conversion of Sab at 199 

The Arabic School for the Translation of the Scrip- 
tures 205 

The Jews in Asia 210 

Their MSS. of the Scriptures 227 

The Ten Tribes 234 

Restoration of the Jews 239 

Versions of the Scriptures for the Jews 246 

Bibliotheca Biblica in Bengal 250 

The Armenians 255 

Vestiges of the Doctrines of Revelation 26 i 

Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India 270 

Letter on this subject from Dr. Watson, bishop of 

Llandaff, to the Author 286 

Conclusion * * 291 

A List of Works on the Civilization of the East ; 
being the compositions which gained the Prizes, or 
were presented to the Universities in competition 
for the Prizes, instituted by Dr. Buchanan 297 



CHRISTIAN RESEARCHES, 



IN ASIA. 

IN bis late Discourses before tbe University of 
Cambridge, the Author noticed incidentally some 
general circumstances of the darkness of Pagan- 
ism, and of the means which are now employed 
to diffuse the light of Christianity in the East* 
Thisa wakened a desire in some Members of that 
learned Body to know the particulars ; for if 
there were a just expectation of success, and if 
the design were conducted in consonance with 
the principles and order of the Church of Eng- 
land, it might be a proper subject for their coun- 
tenance and co-operation. A more detailed ac- 
count, therefore, will probably be read with in- 
terest. Many, doubtless, will rejoice to see the 
stream of Divine knowledge and civilization 
flowing to the utmost ends of the earth. And 
even those who have hitherto heard of the pro* 
gress of Christianity with little concern, maybe 
induced to regard it with a humane solicitude, 

B 



2 fntrotmrtton. 

In the College of Fort-William in Bengal, 
there was a department for translating the Scrip- 
tures into the Oriental languages ; and, so early 
as 1805, (the fifth year of its institution) a com- 
mencement had been made in certain languages. 
The first yersion of any of the Gospels in the 
Persian and Hindostanee tongues which were 
printed in India, issued from the Press of the 
College of Fort-William. The Persian was su- 
perintended by Lieut.-Colonel Colebrooke, and 
the Hindostanee by William Hunter, Esq. The 
Gospels were translated into the Malay lan- 
guage by Thomas Jarrett, Esq. of the Civil 
Service. — The principal Oriental translator, in 
the Persian department, was Mirza Fitrut, a 
native of the dominions of the Great Moghul ; 
and the head translator, in the Hindu depart- 
ment, was Meer Buhador Ulee, a Hindu. 

The College was founded on the 4th of May, 
1800. After it had flourished for almost seven 
years, during which period it produced nearly 
one hundred volumes in Oriental literature,* the 
Court of Directors resolved on reducing the 
establishment within narrower limits, on the 1st 
of January, 1807. In consequence of this mea~ 
— «. — . j~ 

* See " First Four Years of the College of Fort- William i** 
f . 2 1 9. Cadett and Ernies. 



8 



Sure, the translations of the Scriptures and some 
other literary works were suspended.* 



* Establishment of the College of Fort-William. 
Marquis Wellesley Visitor. 

Rev. David Brown, » . Provost. 

Rev. Claudius Buchanan, . . .. . Vice Provost. 

Members of the College Council. 
The Provost and Vice Provost j the Hon. Henry Wellesley* 
Sir George Barlow, Bart. J. H. Colebrooke, Esq. and J. H. 
Harington, Esq. 
Charles Rolhraan, Esq.— Secretary to the College CounciL 

Professors. 

J. H. Colebrooke, Esq Shanscrit. 

Francis Gladwin, Esq. "\ 

N. B. Edmonstone, Esq. \.. . .Persian, 

Matthew Lumsden, Esq. J 

Capt. John Baillie, Arabic. 

John Gilchrist, Esq. "\ 

Capt. James Mouat, V . .Hindostanee. 

Lieut. Macdougall, J 

Rev. W. Carey, Bengalee. 

Rev. N. Pcezold, , Tamul. 

J. H. Harington, Esq X Laws and Regulations 

1 of the Company. 

Rev. C. Buchanan,. . Greek and Latin Classics. 

Dr. James Dinwiddie> Mathematics. 

Mr. Du Plessy French. 

W. Hunter, Esq. M.D..Examiner in Persia, & Hindostanee* 

NATIVE TEACHERS. 
Pundits, Moulvees, and Moonshees, 50 and upwards. 



4 f nttotmcttom 

As this event had been long expected, the 
Provost and Vice-Provost of the College, who 
were sensible of the importance of restoring 
Sacred learning to the East, had begun some 
time before, to consider of the means, by which 
that benefit might yet be secured. Much ex- 
pense had already been incurred. Many learned 
natives had come from remote regions to Cal- 
cutta, whose services could not be easily re- 
placed; and who never could have been assem- 
bled, but by the influence of the supreme govern- 
ment, as exerted by the Marquis Wellesley. 
The Court of Directors were probably not fully 
aware of the importance of the literary works 
then carrying on, (although, indeed, their objec- 
tion was not so much to the utility, as to the 
expense of the institution) and it was believed 
that a time would come, when they would be 
happy to think that these works had not been 
permitted -to fall to the ground. It was not, 
however, their causing the expense to cease 
which was the chief source of regret; but that 
the unity of the undertaking was now destroyed. 
The College of Fort-William had been identi- 
fied with the Church of England ; and, under 
that character, had extended a liberal patronage 
to all learned men who could promote the trans- 
lation of the Scriptures. But now these trans- 



Introduction. 5 

lations being no longer subject to its revision, 
its responsibility would also cease.* 



* It will be gratifying to the public to learn that the College 
of Fort- William is now in a flourishing state, and has received 
the final sanction and patronage of the East-India Company. 
It owes much to the cultivated mind and liberal spirit of Lord 
Minto, the present Governor- General of India. His Lordship 
had not been many months in that country, before he perceived 
its importance in relation to the interests of the British Empire 
in the East $ and his annual Speeches at the public Disputations, 
shew that he thinks the College of Fort-William deserves as 
much attention and support as any department under his Go- 
vernment. It will be yet more gratifying to many to hear that 
this Institution is likely to become once more a fountain of 
translation for the Sacred Scriptures. Dr. Leyden, Professor 
of the Hindostanee Language, has come forward (March 1810) 
with a proposal to superintend the translation of the Scriptures 
into seven languages, hitherto little cultivated in India. This 
subject will be noticed hereafter. 

It was expected that the East-India College at Hertford, 
would eventually supersede the College in Bengal 5 but it has 
been proved, that in order to give efficiency to the purposes of 
a College at home, there must be also a college abroad. Little 
more than the elements of the Oriental Languages can be con- 
veniently learnt in England. But this elementary labour at 
home is doubtless so much time saved in India. And thus far 
the institution at Hertford, independently of its other objects, 
is highly useful, in subserviency to the College of Fort-William. 
The two institutions combine the primary idea of Marquis Wei- 
lesley 3 and the expense is not less than that Statesman had 
originally intended. There is this difference in the execution, 



6 5 ntrotmettott. 

Under these circumstances the Superintendants 
of the college resolved to encourage individuals to 
proceed with their versions by such means as they 
could command ; and to trust to the contributions 
of the public, and to the future sanction of the 
Government, for the perpetuity of the design. 
They purposed at the same time, not to confine 
the undertaking to Bengal alone, or to the terri- 
tories of the Company ; but to extend it to every 
part of the East, where fit instruments for trans- 
lation could be found. With this view, they 
aided the designs of the Baptist Missionaries in 
Bengal, of the Lutheran Missionaries in Coro- 
mandel, belonging to " the Society for promoting 
Christian Knowledge," and of the other Mission- 
aries in the East, connected with Societies in 
England and Scotland : and also patronised those 
Roman Catholic Missionaries in the South of 



that there are now two institutions instead of one. His Lord- 
ship proposed that the two institutions should be in India com- 
bined in one , and his reasons were, that the organs of speech 
in youth are more flexible at an early age for learning a new 
language : and that the constitution of young persons assimilates 
more easily to a strange climate. There are various advantages, 
however, in having the elementary Institution at home, which 
may counterbalance these reasons ; and if it continue to be con- 
ducted with the same spirit and effect which have hitherto dis- 
tinguished it, I think that the present plan is preferable. 



fntrolrtirtton 



? 



India whom they found qualified for conducting 
useful works. About the same period they ex- 
erted themselves in circulating proposals for the 
translation of the Scriptures into the Oriental 
Languages, by the Baptist Missionaries in Ben- 
gal, and in promoting subscriptions for that 
object by all the means in their power ; and when 
it was proposed to the Governor-General (Lord 
Minto, then just arrived) to suppress this Mis- 
sion, a memorial was addressed to the Govern- 
ment in its behalf. 

In order to obtain a distinct view of the state 
of Christianity and of Superstition in Asia, the 
Superintendants of the College had, before this 
period, entered into correspondence with in- 
telligent persons in different countries ; and 
from every quarter, (even from the confines of 
China) they received encouragement to proceed. 
But, as contradictory accounts were given by 
different writers, concerning the real state of the 
numerous tribes in India, both of Christians and 
Natives, the Author conceived the design of 
devoting the last year or two of his residence in 
the East, to purposes of local examination and 
inquiry. With this view, he travelled through 
the Peninsula of India by land, from Calcutta 
to Cape Comorin, a continent extending through 
fourteen degrees of latitude, and visited Ceylon 



8 fntto&uctum 



thrice. And he soon discovered that a person 
may reside all his life in Bengal, and yet know- 
almost as little of other countries in India, for 
instance, of Travancore, Ceylon, Goa, or Madura, 
of their manners, customs, habits and religion, 
as if he had never left England.* The principal 
objects of this tour, were to investigate the state 
of Superstition at the most celebrated Temples of 
the Hindoos; to examine the Churches and lir 
braries of the Romish, Syrian, and Protestant 
Christians, to ascertain the present state and 
recent history of the Jews in the East ; and to 
discover what persons might be fit instruments 
for the promotion of learning in their respective 
countries, and for maintaining a future corres- 
pondence on the subject of disseminating the 
Scriptures in India. In pursuance of these ob- 
jects, the Author visited Cuttack, Ganjam, Visa- 
gapatam, Samulcotta, Rajamundry, Ellore, On- 
gole, Nellore, Madras, Mailapoor, Pondicherry, 
Cudalore, Tranquebar, Tanjore, Tritchinopoly, 
Aughoor, Madura, Palamcotta, Ramnad, Jaffna- 
patam, Columbo, Manaar, Tutecorin, Angengo, 



* Of the Books published in Britain on the discssiqn re- 
lating to Missions and the state of India, the most sensible and 
authentic are, in general, those written by learned men of the 
Universities who have never been in the East. 



3?ntt0tmctt0iu 



9 



Quilon, Cochin, Cranganor, Verapoli, Calicut, 
Tellichery, Goa, the Pirate Coast, and other 
places between Cape Comorin and Bombay ; the 
interior of Travancore, and the interior of Mala- 
bar; also seven principal Temples of the Hin- 
doos, viz. Seemachalum in the Telinga country, 
Chillumbrum, Seringham, Madura, Ramisseram, 
Elephanta, and Juggernaut. 
, After this tour, the Author returned to Cal- 
cutta, where he remained about three quarters of 
a year longer ; and then visited the Jews and the 
Syrian Christians in Malabar and Travancore a 
second time before his return to England. 

Those nations or communities for whom 
translations of the Scriptures have been com- 
menced under the patronage or direction already 
alluded to, are the following : the Chinese, the 
Hindoos, the Cingalese or Ceylonese, the Malays, 
the Syrian Christians, the Romish Christians, 
the Persians, the Arabians, and the Jews. Of 
these it is proposed to give some account in thejr 
order. 



\o e&rtsttan Eeseattfje* 



THE CHINESE. 



In the discussions concerning the promulgation 
of Christianity, some writers have confined their 
views intirely to India, merely, it is supposed, 
because India is connected, by political relation, 
with Great Britain. India however contains but 
a small part of the nations which seek the Re- 
velation of God. The Malayan Archipelago 
includes more territory and a larger population 
than the continent of India. China is a more 
extensive field than either; and is, in some 
respects, far more important. The Romish 
Church has maintained a long and ineffectual 
contest with that empire ; because it would never 
give the people, " the good and perfect gift," the 
Bible. It further degraded the doctrine of the 
Cross by blending it with Pagan rites. 

j means of obtaining a version of the Scrip- 
n the Chinese language, occupied the minds 
Provost and Vice Provost of the college of 
;- William, at an early period. It appeared to 
object of the utmost importance topro- 
e udite Professor, who should undertake 



respecting tlje Ctnnese* 1 1 



such a work ; for, if but a single copy of the Scrip- 
tures could be introduced into China, they might 
be transcribed in almost every part of that im^ 
mense Empire. Another object in view was to 
introduce some knowledge of the Chinese Lan- 
guage among ourselves; for although the Chinese 
Forts on the Tibet frontier overlook the Com- 
pany's territories in Bengal, there was not 
a person, it was said, in the Company's service 
in India, who could read a common Chinese 
letter. 

After much inquiry they succeeded in procu- 
ring Mr. Joannes Lassar, an Armenian Chris- 
tian, a native of China and a proficient in the 
Chinese Language, who had been employed by 
the Portuguese at Macao, in conducting their 
official correspondence with the Court of Pekin, 
He was willing to relinquish his commercial 
pursuits, and to attach himself to the college, for 
a salary of ^450 a year. But as the order for 
reducing the establishment of the college was 
daily expected, this salary could not be given 
him. The object however was so important, and 
Mr. Lassar appeared to be so well qualified to 
execute it, that they thought fit to retain him 
at the above stipend in a private character. He 
entered immediately on the translation of the 
Scriptures into the Chinese Language, and this 



Christian IWgeatTi)es 



work he has continued to carry on to the pre- 
sent time. But, as his services might be made 
otherwise useful, they resolved to establish a 
class of youths under his tuition ; and as they 
could not obtain the young civil servants of 
the Company for this purpose, they proposed 
to the Baptist Missionaries that Mr. Lassar 
should reside at Serampore, which is near Cal- 
cutta, on the following condition : that one of 
their elder Missionaries, and three at least of 
their youths, should immediately engage in the 
study of the Chinese Language. D. Carey 
declined the offer, but Mr. Marshman accepted 
it, and was joined by two sons of his own, and 
sl son of Dr. Carey ; and they have prosecuted 
their studies with unremitted attention for about 
five years. 

In the year 1 807, a copy of the Gospel of 
St. Matthew in the Chinese Language, translated 
by Mr. Lassar, and beautifully written by him- 
self, was transmitted to his Grace the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury for the Lambeth Library 
as the first fruits of the Chinese Institution 
in Bengal. — Since that period a considerable 
portion of the New Testament has been printed 
off from blocks, after the Chinese manner. 

The proficiency of the Chinese pupils has far 
surpassed the most sanguine hopes which were 



respecting tf>e Cfweae, is 



entertained. His Excellency Lord Minto, 
Governor-General of India, in his first annual 
Speech to the College of Fort-William, has 
recorded the following testimony to their pro- 
gress in the language, and to the importance of 
their attainments. 

c( If I have not passed beyond the legitimate bounds 
ee of this discourse, in ranging to the extremity of those 
" countries, and to the furthest island of that vast 
" Archipelago in which the Malay Language prevails,, 
<e I shall scarcely seem to transgress them, by the short 
" and easy transition thence to the language of China. 
" I am, in truth, strongly inclined, whether regularly 
se or not, to deal * one encouraging word to the merito- 
ec rious, and, I hope, not unsuccessful effort, making, 
" I may say, at the door of our College, though not 
ce admitted to its portico, to force that hitherto impreg- 
" nable fortress, the Chinese Language.— Three young 
" men, I ought indeed to say, boys, have not only 
" acquired a ready use of the Chinese Language, for 
S( the purpose of oral communication (which I under- 
u stand is neither difficult nor rare amongst Europeans 
" connected with China) but they have achieved, in a 
" degree worthy of admiration, that which has been 
<e deemed scarcely within the reach of European facul- 
cc ties or industry; I mean a very extensive and correct 
" acquaintance with the written Language of China. 
" I will not detail the particulars of the Examination 
" which took place on the 10th of this month (Febru- 



14 Christian Wxmvil)ts 



" ary, 1808,) at Serampore, in the Chinese Language^ 
the report of which I have read, however, with great 
ce interest, and recommended to the liberal notice of 
" those whom I have the honour to address. It is 
* s enough for my present purpose to say that these young 
" pupils read Chinese hooks and translate them 5 and 
" they write compositions of their own in the Chinese 
" Language and character. A Chinese Press too is 
« established, and in actual use. In a word, if the 
«* founders and supporters of this little College have not 
" yet dispelled, they have at least sent, and admitted 
" a dawn of day through that thick impenetrable cloud : 
" they have passed that Oceamm dissociabilem, which 
" for so many ages has insulated that vast Empire from 
* c the rest of mankind. 

" I must not omit to commend the zealous and per- 
" severing labours of Mr. Lassar, and of those learned 
ie and pious persons associated with him, who have 
« accomplished, for the future benefit, we may hope, 
« of that immense and populous region, Chinese Ver- 
" sions in the Chinese Character, of the Gospels 
*< of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, throwing open that 
" precious mine, with all its religious and moral trea- 
" sure, to the largest associated population in the 
" world." * 

When this Chinese class was first established, 
it was ordained that there should be regular 



* See College Report for 1808. 



ttgpectmff «>e e\>mt$t. is 

public Examinations and Disputations, as at 
the College of Fort-William. The Examination 
in September, 1808, (a few months after the 
above Speech of Lord Minto was pronounced) 
was held in the presence of J. H. Harington, 
Esq. Vice-President of the Asiatic Society, Dr. 
Leyden, and other Oriental scholars ; when the 
three youths, mentioned above, maintained a 
Disputation in the Chinese Language. On this 
occasion, the Respondent defended the follow- 
ing position : " To commit to memory the Chi- 
" nese Classics is the best mode of acquiring 
" the Chinese Language." 

One most valuable effect of these measures 
is a work just published by Mr. Joshua Marsh- 
man, the elder pupil of Mr. Lassar. It is the 
first volume of " the Works of Confucius, con- 
" taining the Original Text, with a transla- 
" tion; to which is prefixed a Dissertation on 
" the Chinese Language, pp. 877, 4to." to be 
followed by four vol umes more. This trans- 
lation will be received with gratitude by the 
learned, and will be considered as a singular 
monument of the indefatigable labour of an 
English Missionary in the acquisition of a new 
language. 

While treating of the cultivation of the Chi- 
nese Language, it is just that we should notice 



16 ef)rtsttan Eesearcfces 

also the endeavours of the London Missionary 
Society in the same department. While Mr. 
Lassar and Mr. Marsham are translating the 
Scriptures at Calcutta, Mr. Morrison is pro- 
secuting a similar work at Canton in China, 
with the aid of able native scholars. It is 
stated in the report of their Society, that the 
principal difficulties have been surmounted, and 
that the period of his acquiring a complete 
knowledge of the language is by no means so 
distant as what he once expected. " It has 
" proved of great advantage to him that he 
" copied and carried out with him the Chinese 
" translation of the Gospels preserved in the 
" British Museum, which he now finds, from 
" his own increasing acquaintance with the 
" language, and the opinion of the Chinese 
" assistants, to be exceedingly valuable, and 
" which must, from the excellency of the style, 
" have been produced by Chinese natives." — 
He adds, that the manuscript of the New Tes- 
tament is fit to be printed ; and that he pro- 
poses to publish also a Dictionary and a Gram- 
mar of the language, the last of which is al- 
ready " prepared for the press."* The expense 
to the London Missionary Society for the cur- 



* See their Report for 1810, p. 22, 



respecting tlje ©m&oos. j 7 

rent year, in the Chinese department alone, 
is stated to be ,§£500. We greatly admire the 
liberal spirit which animates this institution, 
in the prosecution of its noble designs. 

The foregoing notices of the progress of Chi- 
nese literature will, it is presumed, be accept- 
able to many ; for the cultivation of the Chi- 
nese language, considered merely in a political 
point of view, must prove of the utmost ad- 
vantage to this country, in her further trans- 
actions with that ancient and ingenious, but 
jealous, incommunicative, and partially civilized 
nation, 



THE HINDOOS. 

It is admitted by all writers that the civili- 
zation of the Hindoos will be promoted by 
intercourse with the English. But this only 
applies to that small portion of the natives, 
who live in the vicinity of Europeans, and mix 
with them. As for the bulk of the population, 
they scarcely ever see an Englishman. It be- 
comes then of importance " to ascertain what 
" have been the actual effects of Christianity 
" in those interior provinces of Hiudostan, 

c 



1 8 Cljtfettan Research 

tf where it has been introduced by the Christian 
ct Missionaries ; and to compare them with such 
ff of their countrymen as remain in their pristine 
" idolatry." It was a chief object of the Au- 
thor's tour through India, to mark the relative 
influence of Paganism and Christianity. In 
order then that the English nation may be able 
to form a judgment on this subject, he will 
proceed to give some account of the Hindoos of 
Juggernaut, and of the native Christians in 
Tanjore. The Hindoos of Juggernaut have as- 
yet had no advantages of Christian instruction S 
and continue to worship the Idol called Jug- 
gernaut. The native Christians of Tanjore, 
until the light of revelation visited them, wor- 
shipped an idol also, called the great Black Bull 
of Tanjore. And, as in this brief work the 
Author chiefly proposes to state merely what he 
himself has seen, with little comment, or obser- 
vation, it will suffice to give a few extracts 
from the Journal of his tour through these Pro- 
vinces. 



respecting flje $ta&ao0, 1 9 



Extracts from the Author's Journal in his 
Tour to the Temple of Juggernaut in Qrissa, 
in the year 1806\ 

6 Budclrnck in Otis, a. May 80th, 1S0G. 

< We know that we are approaching Juggernaut (and 
yet we are more than fifty miles from it) by the human 
bones which we have seen for some days strewed by the 
way. At this place we have been joined by several 
large bodies of pilgrims, perhaps 2000 in number, who 
have come from various parts of Northern India. Some 
of them, with whom I have conversed, say that they 
have been two months on their march, travelling slowly 
in the hottest season of the year, with their wives and 
children. Some old persons are among them who wish 
to die at Juggernaut. Numbers of pilgrims die on the 
road; and their bodies generally remain unburied. On 
a plain by the river, near the Pilgrim's Caravansera at 
this place, there are more than a hundred skulls. The 
dogs, jackals, and vultures seem to live here on human 
prey. The vultures exhibit a shocking tameness. The 
obscene animals will not leave the body sometimes till 
we come close to them. This Buddruck is a horri4 
place. Wherever I turn my eyes, I meet death in some 
shape or other. Surely Juggernaut cannot be worse 
than Buddruck.' 

C 2 



2* Cljttettan Eesearcljes 



g In sight of Juggernaut ,12th June, 1806. 

* — — ■ Many thousands of pilgrims have accompanied 
us for some days past. They cover the road before and 
behind as far as the eye can reach. At nine o'clock this 
morning, the temple of Juggernaut appeared in view 
at a great distance. When the multitude first saw it, 
they gave a shout, and fell to the ground and worshipped. 
I have heard nothing to-day but shouts and acclamations 
by the successive bodies of pilgrims. From the place 
where I now stand I have a view of a host of people 
like an army, encamped at the outer gate of the town 
of Juggernaut : where a guard of soldiers is posted to 
prevent their entering the town, until they have paid 
the pilgrim's tax. — I passed a devotee to day who laid 
himself down at every step, measuring the road to Jug- 
gernaut, by the length of his body, as a penance of merit 
to please the God.' 



s Outer Gate of Juggernaut, 12th June, 1806. 

tf — A disaster has just occurred. — As I approached 

the gate, the pilgrims crowded from all quarters around 
me, and shouted, as they usually did when I passed them 
on the road, an expression of welcome and respect. I 
was a little alarmed at their number, and looked round 



rejecting tlje ^mtwos. 



for my guard. A guard of soldiers had accompanied me 
from Cuttack, the last military station ; but they were 
now about a quarter of a mile behind with my servants 
and the baggage. The pilgrims cried out that they were 
entitled to some indulgence, that they were poor , they 
could not pay the tax; but I was not aware of their 
design. At this moment, when I was within a few 
yards of. the gate, an old Sanyassee (or holy man) 
who had travelled some days by the side of my horse, 
came up and said, 'Sir, you are in danger; the people 
are going to rush through the gate when it is opened for 
you.' I immediately dismounted, and endeavoured to 
escape to one side ; but it was too late. The mob was 
now in motion, and with a tumultuous shout pressed 
violently towards the gate. The guard within seeing my 
danger opened it, and the multitude rushing through, 
carried me forward in the torrent a considerable space : 
so that I was literally borne into Juggernaut by the 
Hindoos themselves. A distressing scene followed. As 
the number and strength of the mob increased, the 
narrow way was choaked up by the mass of people ; and 
I apprehended that many of them would have been suffo- 
cated, or bruised to death. My horse was yet among 
them. But suddenly one of the side posts of the gate, 
which was of wood, gave way and fell to the ground, 
And perhaps this circumstance alone prevented the loss 
of lives. Notice of the event was immediately commu- 
nicated to Mr. Hunter, the superintendant of the 
temple, who repaired to the spot, and sent an additional 
guard to the inner gate, lest the people should force that 
also ; for there is an outer and an inner gate to the town 
of Juggernaut; but both of them are slightly con- 
structed. Mr. Hunter told me that similar accidents 



Cfntsttan Eeseatcljeg 



sometimes occur, and that many have been crushed to 
death by the pressure of the mob. He added, that 
sometimes a body of pilgrims, (consisting chiefly of 
women and children and old men) trusting to the phy- 
sical weight of their mass, will make, what he called, 
a charge on the armed guards, and overwhelm them ; 
the guards not being willing, in such circumstances, to 
oppose their bayonets/* 



"Juggernaut, 14th June, ISOG. 

6 — — I have seen Juggernaut. The scene at Buddruck 
is but the vestibule to Juggernaut. No record of ancient 
or modem history can give, I think, an adequate idea of 
this valley of death ; it may be truly compared with the 
€ valley of Hinnom/ The idol called Juggernaut, has 
been considered as the Moloch of the present age ; and 
he is justly so named, for the sacrifices offered up to 
him by self-devotement, are not less criminal, perhaps 
not less numerous, than those recorded of the Moloch 
of Canaan;- Two other idols accompany Juggernaut, 
namely, Boloram and Shubudra, his brother and sister : 
for there are three Deities worshipped here. They receive 
equal adoration, and sit on thrones of nearly equal height/ 

* _ This morning I viewed the Temple ; a stupend- 
ous fabric, and truly commensurate with the extensive 
sway of ( the horrid king/ As other temples are usually 
adorned with figures emblematical of their religion, so 
Juggernaut has representations (numerous and varied) 
of that vice, which constitutes the essence of his wor* 



reacting fJje l£feT200& m 



ship, The walls and gates are covered with indecent 
emblems, in massive and durable sculpture. — I have also 
visited the sand plains by the sea, in some places whiten- 
ed with the bones of the pilgrims \ and another place a 
little way out of the town, called by the English, the Gol- 
gotha, where the dead bodies are ^usually cast forth ; and 
where dogs and vultures are ever seen.'* 

6 The grand Hindoo festival of the Rutt Jattra, takes 
place on the 18th inst. when the idol is to be brought 
forth to the people. I reside during my stay here at the 
house of James Hunter, Esq. the Company's collector of 
the tax on pilgrims, and superintendant of the temple, 
formerly a student in the College of Fort-William ; by 
whom I am hospitably entertained, and also by Captain 
Patton, and Lieut. Woodcock, commanding the military 
force. Mr. Hunter distinguished himself at the College 
by his proficiency in the Oriental Languages. He is a 
gentleman of polished manners and of classical taste. 
The agreeable society of these gentlemen is very refresh- 



* The vultures generally find out the prey first ; and begin 
with the intestines 3 for the flesh of the body is too firm for 
their beaks immediately after death. But the dogs soon 
receive notice of the circumstance, generally from seeing 
the Hurries, or corpse-carriers returning from the place. On 
the approach of the dogs, the vultures retire a few yards, 
and wait till the body be sufficiently torn for easy deglutition. 
The vultures and dogs often feed together } and sometimes 
begin their attack before the pilgrim be quite dead. There 
are four animals which may be seen about a carcase, at the 
lame time, viz. the dog, the jackal, the vulture, and the 
Hurgecla, or Adjutant, called by Pennant, the Gigantic Crane. 



24 * Christian l&eseatcltfg 



ing to my spirits in the midst of the present scenes. I 
was surprised to see how little they seemed to be moved 
by the scenes of Juggernaut. They said they were now 
so accustomed to them, they thought little of them. 
They had almost forgot their first impressions. Their 
houses are on the sea shore, about a mile or more from 
the temple. They cannot live nearer, on account of the 
offensive effluvia of the town. For, independently of the 
enormity of the superstition, there are other circumstan- 
ces which render Juggernaut noisome in an extreme 
degree. The senses are assailed by the squalid and 
ghastly appearance of the famished pilgrims j many of 
whom die in the streets of want or of disease 5 while the 
devotees with clotted hair and painted flesh, are seen 
practising their various austerities, and modes of self- 
torture. Persons of both sexes, with little regard to 
concealment, sit down on the sands close to the town 
in public view \ and the sacred bulls walk about among 
them and eat the ordure.'* 

( The vicinity of Juggernaut to the sea probably pre- 
vents the contagion, which otherwise would be produced 
by the putrefactions of the place. — There is scarcely any 
verdure to refresh the sight near Juggernaut ; the temple 
and town being nearly encompassed by hills of sand, 
which has been cast up in the lapse of ages by the surge 
of the ocean. All is barren and desolate to the eye $ and 



* This singular fact was pointed out to me by the gentlemen 
here. There is no vegetation for the sacred Bulls on the sand 
plains. They are fed generally with vegetables from the 
hands of the pilgrims. 



respecting ti)e $ftflwa& m 

in the ear there is the never-intermitting sound of the 
roaring sea/ 



' Juggernaut, ISth of June, 1806. 

' 1 nave returned home from witnessing a scene 

which I shall . never forget. At twelve o'clock of this 
day, being the great day of the feast, the Moloch of Hin- 
dostan was brought out of his temple amidst the accla- 
mations of hundreds of thousands of his worshippers. 
When the idol was placed on his throne, a shout was 
raised, by the multitude, such as I had never heard before. 
It continued equable for a few minutes, and then gradually 
died away. After a short interval of silence, a murmur 
was heard at a distance ; all eyes were turned towards the 
place, and, behold, a grove advancing. A body of men, 
having green branches, or palms, in their hands, ap- 
proached with-great celerity. The people opened a way 
for them ; and when they had come up to the throne, 
they fell down before him that sat thereon, and worship- 
ped. And the multitude again sent forth a voice < like 
the sound of a great thunder.'— But the voices I now 
heard, were not those of melody or of joyful acclamation; 
for there is no harmony in the praise of Moloch's wor- 
shippers. Their number indeed brought to my mind the 
countless multitude of the Revelations ; but their voices 
gave no tuneful Hosanna or Hallelujah ; but rather a yell 
Of approbation, united with a kind of hissing applause *™ 



* See Milton's Pandemonium, Book X, 



26 Cfjrfetfam mesearcijes 



I was at a loss how to account for this latter noise, until 
I was directed to notice the women ; who emitted a sound 
like that of whistling, with the lips circular and the 
tongue vibrating : as if a serpent would speak by their 
organs, uttering human sounds.' 

6 The throne of the idol was placed on a stupendous 
car or tower about sixty feet in height, resting on 
wheels which indented the ground deeply, as they 
turned slowly under the ponderous machine. Attached 
to it were six cables, of the size and length of a ship's 
-cable, by which the people drew it along. Thousands of 
men, women and children pulled by each cable, crowding 
so closely, that some could only use one hand. Infants 
are made to exert their strength in this office, for it is 
accounted a merit of righteousness to move the God. 
Upon the tower were the priests and satellites of the 
idol, surrounding his throne. I was told that there were 
about a hundred and twenty persons upon the car alto- 
gether. The idol is a block of wood, having a frightful 
visage painted black, with a distended mouth of a bloody 
colour. His arms are of gold, and he is dressed in gor- 
geous apparel. The other two idols are of a white and 
yellow colour.— Five elephants preceded the three towers, 
bearing towering flags, dressed in crimson caparisons, 
and having bells hanging to their caparisons, which 
sounded musically as they moved/ 

< I went on in the procession, close by the tower of 
Moloch ; which, as it was drawn with difficulty, " grated 
on its many wheels harsh thunder.* After a few minutes 



* Two of the military gentlemen had mounted my elephant 
that they might witness the spectacle while I walked, and had 



respecting: tlje 5)tnts00^ ay 

it stopped; and now the worship of the God began. A 

high priest mounted the car in front of the idol, and pro- 
nounced his obscene stanzas in the ears of the people ; 
who responded at intervals in the same strain. < These 
6 songs/ said he, t are the delight of the God. His car 
< can only move when he is pleased with the song.'— The 
car moved on a little way and then stopped. A boy of 
about twelve years was then brought forth to attempt 
something yet more lascivious, if peradventure the God 
would move. The f child perfected the praise' of his 
idol with such ardent expression and gesture, that the 
God was pleased, and the multitude, emitting a sensual 
yell of delight, urged the car along.—After a few minutes 
it stopped again. An aged minister of the idol then 
stood up, and with a long rod in his hand, which he 
moved with indecent action, completed the variety of this 
disgusting exhibition.-I felt a consciousness of doing 



brought him close to the tower ; but the moment it be* an to 
move, the animal, alarmed at the unusual noise, took fright and 
ran oft through the crowd till he was stopt by a waif The 
natural fear of the elephant, lest he should injure human life, 
was remarkably exemplified on this occasion. Though the 
crowd was very closely set, he endeavoured, in the midsfof his 
own terror, to throw the people off, on both sides, with his feet 
and it was found that he had only trod upon one person It 
was with great concern I afterwards learnt, that this was a poor 
woman, and that the fleshy part of her leg had been torn off 
There being no medical person here, Lieut. Woodcock, with 
great humanity, endeavoured to dress the wound, and attended 
her daily ; and Mr. Hunter ordered her to be supplied with 
every thing that might conduce to her recovery. 



1 



2g eijtfettau Kesearcfjes 

wrong in witnessing it. I was also somewhat appalled at 
the magnitude and horror of the spectacle ; I felt like a 
guiltv person on whom all eyes were fixed, and I was 
about to withdraw. But a scene of a different kind was 
now to be presented. The characteristics of Moloch's 
worship are obscenity and blood. We have seen the for* 
me r. . Now comes the blood.' 

6 After the tower had proceeded some way, a pilgrim 
announced that he was ready to offer himself a sacrifice 
to the idol. He laid himself down in the road before the 
tower as it was moving along, lying on his face, with 
his arms stretched forwards. The multitude passed 
round him, leaving the space clear, and he was crushed to 
death by the wheels of the tower. A shout of joy was 
raised to the God. He is said to smile when the libation 
of the blood is made. The people threw cowries, or 
small money on the body of the victim, in approbation of 
the deed. He was left to view a considerable time, and 
was then carried by the Hurries to the Golgotha, where I 
have just been viewing his remains. How much I wished 
that the Proprietors of India Stock could have attended 
the wheels of Juggernaut, and seen this peculiar source 
of their revenue/ 



* Juggernaut, 20th June, 1 806. 

" Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with Wood 

44 Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears." Milton* 

! — — The horrid solemnities still continue. Yesterday 
sl woman devoted herself to the idol. She laid herself 
down on the road in an oblique direction, so that the 
wheel did not kill her instantaneously, as is generally the 
case ; but she died in a few hours. This morning as I 
passed the Place of Skulls, nothing remained of her but 
her bones/ 

c And this, thought I, is the worship of the Brahmins 
of Hindostan, and their worship in its sublimest degree ! 
What then shall we think of their private manners, and 
their moral principles ! F or it is equally true of India 
as of Europe. If you would know the state of the peo- 
ple, look at the state of the Temple. 5 

* I was surprized to see the Brahmins with their heads 
uncovered in the open plain falling down in the midst of 
the Socders before c the horrid shape/ and mingling so 
complacently with 6 that polluted cast.' But this proved 
what I had before heard, that so great a God is this, that 
the dignity of high cast disappears before him. This 
great king recognises no distinction of rank among his 
subjects, all men are equal in his presence.' 



so Cfjrfettan JResearcIjes 



'Juggernaut, 21st June, 1806. 

* The idolatrous processions continue for some days 
longer, but my spirits are so exhausted by the constant 
view of these enormities, that I mean to hasten away 
from this place sooner than I at first intended.— I beheld 
another distressing scene this morning at the Place of 
Skulls ;— -a poor woman lying dead, or nearly dead, and 
her two children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures 
which were near. The people passed by without notic- 
ing the children. I asked them where was their home. 
They said, 1 they had no home bat where their mother 
was.'— O, there is no pity at Juggernaut ! no mercy, no 
tenderness of heart in Moloch's kingdom ! Those who 
supporf his kingdom, err, I trust, from ignorance. * They 
know not what they do/ 



* As to the number of worshippers assembled here at 
this time, no accurate calculation can be made. The 
natives themselves, when speaking of the numbers at 
particular festivals, usually say that a lack of people 
(100,000) would not be missed. I asked a Brahmin how. 
many he supposed were present at the most numerous 
festival he had ever witnessed. ( How can I tell/ said 
he, * how many grains there are in a handful of sand ?' 

c The languages spoken here are various, as there are 
Hindoos from every country in India : but the two chief 
languages in use by those who are resident, are the 



respecting tl>e fyimoos. s 1 



Orissa and the Telinga. The border of the Telinga 
Country is only a few miles distant from the tower of 
Juggernaut.* 



c Chilka Lake, 24th Jane. 

* I felt my mind relieved and happy when I had 

passed beyond the confines of Juggernaut. I certainly 
was not prepared for the scene. But no one can know 
what it is who has not seen it. — From an eminencef on 
the pleasant banks of the Chilka Lake (where no human 
bones are seen) I had a view of the lofty tower of 
Juggernaut far remote ; and while I viewed it, its abo- 
minations came to mind. It was on the morning of the 
Sabbath. Ruminating long on the wide and extended 
empire of Moloch in the heathen world, I cherished in 
my thoughts the design of some * Christian Institution/ 
which, being fostered by Britain, my Christian Country, 
might gradually undermine this baleful idolatry, and put 
out the memory of it for ever.' 



* * It will give pleasure to the reader to hear, that a transla- 
tion of the Holy Scriptures is preparing in Orissa and Telinga, 
the languages of Juggernaut. 

f Manickpatam. 



Annual Expenses of the Idol Juggernaut, 
presented to the English Government. 

[Extracted from the Official Accounts.] 

Rupees, £. Sterling, 

1. Expenses attending the table of the idol 36,115 or 4,514 

2. Ditto of his dress or wearing apparel - 2,712 339 

3. Ditto of the wages of his servants - - 10,05/ 1,259 

4. Ditto of contingent expenses at the dif- 

ferent seasons of pilgrimage - - 10,989 1,373 

5. Ditto of his elephants and horses - - 3,030 378 
©. Ditto of his rutt or annual state carriage 6,713 839 

Rupees 69,616 £ 8702 

< In Item third, £ wages of his servants,' are included 
the wages of the courtesans, who are kept for the service 
of the temple. 

6 Item sixth.— What is here called in the official 
account c the state carriage/ is the same as the car or 
tower. Mr. Hunter informed me that the three e state 
carriages' were decorated this year (in June, 1806) with 
upwards of 200/. sterling worth of English broad 
doth. 

6 Of the rites celebrated in the interior of Juggernaut, 
called the Daily Service, I can say nothing of my own 
knowledge, not having been within the temple.'* 



* At the Temple of Juggernaut, the English G vernment 
levy a tax on pilgrims as a source of revenue. The first Jaw, 



JUGGERNAUT IN BENGAL. 

Lest it should be supposed that the rites of 
uggernaut are confined to the Temple in Orissa, 
r that the Hindoos there practice a more crimi- 



enacted by the Bengal Government for this purpose, was entitled 
A Re S ul ation for levying a Tax from Pilgrims resorting to the 
" Temple of Juggernaut, and for the superintendance and 
" management of the Temple.— Passed 3d April, 1806." 
Another Regulation was passed in Bengal, in April, 1809, re- 
scinding so much of the former as related to the « interior 
management and controul" of the Temple ; but sanctioning 
the levying the tax from pilgrims for admission to the temple ; 
allotting a sum toward the expenses of the idol ; and appointing 
an officer of Government to collect the tax. Of this second 
Regulation, the author received no intimation until the third 
edition of this work was put to press. In the former editions, 
it was stated that the Temple was under the immediate manage- 
ment and controul of the English Government which he* is 
now happy to find was not the fact at the time. Whether the 
account of the new Regulation had reached England before the 
1st of July, 1810, when he had occasion first to notice the sub. 
ject, he does not know. But he has it now in his power to 
communicate to the public the following authentic information, 
which, in justice to the Honorable Court of Directors, as to the 
part they have taken in this matter, ought to be known. 

When the Bengal Government first announced their Regu- 
lation of the 3d of April, 1806, to the Court of Directors, 
(which they did by letter, dated 16th May, 180(3,) they com - 



D 



34, eijrtsttan laescarcljes 

nal superstition than they do in other places, 
it may be proper to notice the effects of the 
same idolatry in Bengal. The English nation 
will not expect to hear that the blood of Jug- 
oernaut is known at Calcutta : but, alas, it is 



municated their intention of making the following alteration* 
therein i-namdy, to permit « certain officers of thelemple 
« to collect their fees directly from the pilgrims agreeably to 
« former usage, instead of receiving the amount ot those fees 
« from the public treasury : to allow the Pundits, who are to 
« superintend the affairs of the Temple, to be elected by par- 
« ticular classes of persons attached to it, instead of being 
« appointed by the Government ; and to vest in the Pundits 
« so elected, the entire controul over the Temple and its mi- 
ff nisters and officers, as well as over the funds allotted for its 
« expenses ; restricting the interference of the officers of 
« Government to the preservation of the peace oi the town, 
" to the protection of pilgrims from oppression and extortion, 
« and to the collection of the tax to be appropriated to the use 
" of Government." 

"When this subject came under the notice of the Court of 
Directors in the year 1808, they thought it proper to p opose 
* distinct statement of their opinions upon it to the Bengal 
Government ; and they prepared a letter, wherein they en- 
joined, that the Government should not elect the priests who 
were to superintend the affairs of the Temple, or exercise a 
controul over its ministers and officers, or take the manage- 
mentof its funds-, and that the exercise of the authority ot 
the government should extend only to objects falling directiy 
within the province of the magistrate, as the care of the 
police, the administration of justice, and the collection of such 



vwpttttns #e «MMta& 35 

shed at the very doors of the English, almost 
under the eye of the Supreme Government 
Moloch has many a tower in the province of 
Bengal: that fair and fertile province which 
has been called « The Garden of Nations." 
Close to Isherva beautiful villa on the river's 
side, about eight miles from Cakutta, once 

a tax, professedly for these ends, as should be required for the 
due attainment of them; not subjecting the Hindoos to any 
tax for access to their place of devotion, or under the notion 
of granting them a religious privilege, or of tolerating idolatry 
in consideration of money. The Court of Directors, however' 
were over-ruled in this proceeding by a superior authority,' 
which thought it sufficient to acquiesce generally in what the 
Bengal Government, in their above-mentioned letter of 1 6th 
May, 1806, proposed should be done. 

By the same superior authority another dispatch was sub- 
stituted to that effect, in which it was stated, that as the tax 
on pilgrims resorting to Allahabad and Juggernaut, was esta- 
blished during the Nawaub's and the Mahratta Government 
there did not appear to be any objection to its continuance' 
under the British Government. 

This substituted dispatch went, as the law directs, in the 
name of the Court of Directors, although it was in opposition 
to their sentiments. But, before it arrived in Bengal the 
Government there had passed, by their own authority! the 
Regulation of April, I8O9. 

That part of the province of Orissa, which contains the 
Temple of Juggernaut, first became subject to the British 
Empire under the administration of Marquis Wellesley, who 
permitted the pilgrims at first to visit Juggernaut without pay. 
D 2 



36 ctjrtettan laeseatcljes 

the residence of Governor Hastings, and within 
view of the present Governor-General's country- 
house, there is a temple of this idol, which is 
often stained with human blood. At the festi- 
val of the Rutt Jattra, in May, 1807, the Author 
visited it, on his return from the South of India, 
having heard that its rites were similar to those 
of Juggernaut. 



in* tribute. It was proposed to his Lordship, soon after, to 
mss the Regulation first above-mentioned for the management 
of the Temple, and levying the tas 5 but he did not approve 
of it and actually left the Government without giving his 
sanction U> the opprobrious law. When the measure was dis- 
cussed by the succeeding Government, it was resisted by 
George Udny, Esq. one of the Members of the Supreme 
Council, who recorded his solemn dissent on the proceedings 
of Government, for transmission to England. The other 
members considered Juggernaut to be a legitimate source of 
revenue, on the principle, I believe, that money from other 
temples in Hindostan had long been brought into the treasury. 
It is just that I should state that these gentlemen are men of 
the most honourable principles and of unimpeached integrity. 
Nor would any one of them, I believe, (for I have the honour 
to know them) do any thing which he thought injurious to 
the honour or religion of his country. But the truth is this, 
that those persons who go to India in early youth, and witness 
the Hindoo customs all their life, seeing little at the same time 
of the Christian Religion to counteract the effect, are dis- 
posed to view them with complacency, and are sometimes in 
danger of at length considering them even as proper or neces- 



sary, 



reverting Qe Moos, 37 



< Juggernaut 1 s Temple, near Ishera, on the Ganges : 
< Rutt Jattra, May, 1807 . 

c The tower here is* drawn along, like that at Jugger- 
naut, by cables. The number of worshippers at this festival 
is computed to be about a hundred thousand. The 
tower is covered with indecent emblems, which were 
freshly painted for the occasion, and were the objects of 
sensual gaze by both sexes. One of the victims of this year 
was a well-made young man, of healthy appearance and 
comely aspect. He had a garland of flowers round his 
neck, and his long black hair was dishevelled. He danced 
for a while before the Idol, singing in an enthusiastic 
strain, and then rushing suddenly to the wheels, he shed 
his blood under the tower of obscenity.* I was not at 



* This case was fully authenticated at the time, and report- 
ed by eye-witnesses in Calcutta. Old Indians in England will 
sometimes observe that though they lived many years in the 
East, they never saw such things. It is very possible that they did 
not, if they never inquired into them. Will a Hindoo servant 
tell his master that a woman is burning alive, or that blood is 
shed under the wheels of Juggernaut ? Certainly not. He 
knows that his master, if he be a man of any feeling, will dis- 
approve of such inhumanity ; and the Hindoo has no desire to 
hear the bloody rites of his religion commented on at a Chris- 
tian Table. He will rather conceal the fact, and will have 
more satisfaction in promoting his master's pleasures, and in 
supplying him with the narcotic and soul-composing Hooka. 
Of the Hindoo scenes around him (even those in which his own 
domestics bear a part) there is no man in general more Ignorant 



38 Cljt&ttan Eesearcljes 

the spot at the time, my attention having been engaged 
by a more pleasing scene. 

6 On the other side, on a rising ground by the side 
of a Tank, stood the Christian Missionaries, and around 
them a crowd of people listening to their preaching. 
The town of Serampore, where the Protestant Mission- 
aries reside, is only about a mile and a half from this 
Temple of Juggernaut. As I passed through the multi- 
tude, I met several persons having the printed papers of 
the Missionaries in their hands. Some of them were 
reading them very gravely; others were laughing with 
each other at the contents, and saying, < What do these 
words mean V 

< I sat down on an elevated spot to contemplate this 
scene,— the fower of blood and impurity on the one 
hand, and the Christian Preachers on the other. I 
thought on the commandment of our Saviour, « Go ye, 



than the English Sahab (master).— About the year 1798, 
twenty eight Hindoos were reported to have been crushed to 
death at this very place, Ishera, under the wheels of Jugger- 
naut, impelled by sympathetic religious phrenzy. The fact of 
their deaths was notorious, and was recorded in the Calcutta 
Newspapers. 

But so little impression did it make on the public mind, snd 
so little inquiry was made by individuals on the subject, that it 
became doubtful at length, whether the men perished by acci- 
dent, or, as usual, by self-devotement ; for it was said, that to 
qualify the enormity of the deed in the view of the English, 
some of the Hindoos gave out that the men fell under the 
wheels by accident. 



respecting tlje fymm> 39 

teach all nations/ I said to myself, < How great and 
glorious a ministry are these humble persons now exer- 
cising in the presence of God !' How is it applauded by 
the holy Angels, who 'have joy in heaven over one sin- 
ner that repenteth;' and how far does it transcend the 
work of the Warrior or Statesman, in charity, utility, 
and lasting fame! And I could not help wishing that 
the Representatives of the Church of Christ in my own 
country had been present to witness this scene, that they 
might have seen how practicable it is to offer Christian 
.instruction to our Hindoo subjects,' 



IMMOLATION OF FEMALES. 

Before we proceed to shew the happy effects 
of Christianity in those provinces of India 
where it has been introduced, it will be proper 
to notice that other sanguinary rite of the 
Hindoo superstition, the Female Sacrifice. 
The female sacrifice is two-fold. There is the 
sacrifice of women, who are burned alive on the 
funeral pile of their husbands ; and there is the 
murder of female children. We shall first ad- 
vert to the sacrifice of women. The report of 
the number of women burned within the 
period of six months near Calcutta, will give 
the reader some idea of the multitude who perish 
annually in India. 



40 eijrfettan i&tmxtl)t$ 



* REPORT of the Number of Women who were Burned 
' Alive on the Funeral Pile of their Husbands, within 
c thirty miles round Calcutta, from the beginning of 
'Bysakh (1 5th April) to the end of Aswin (15th 
< October) 1804/ 

Women burned 
alive. 



PromGurriatoBarrypore; atelevendifferentplaces* 18 
From Tolly's Nulla mouth to Gurria 3 at seventeen 

different places 36 

Prom Barrypore to Buhipore - f at seven places. ... 11 

Prom Seebpore to Baleea ; at five places 10 

Prom Baleea to Bydyabattee ; at three places. ..... 3 

Prom Bydyabattee, to Bassbareea - f at five places. . 10 
Prom Calcutta to Burahnugur (or Barnagore ;) at 

four places 6 

From Burahnugur to Chanok (or Barrackpore ;) at 

six places 13 

Prom Chanok to Cachrapara - s at four places. ..... 8 

Total of women burned alive in six months, 

near Calcutta.. , 115 



e The above Report was made by persons of the Hin- 
doo cast, deputed for that purpose, under the superin- 
tendance of the Professor of the Shanscrit and Benga- 
lee languages in the College of Fort- William. They 



* See the names of the places and other particulars in Me- 
moir of the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment in 
British India, p. 102. 



ttgpectms tJ)e ©faMog, is 

were ten in number, and were stationed at different pla- 
ces during the whole period of six months. They gave 
in their account monthly, specifying the particulars of 
each immolation, so that every individual instance was 
subject to investigation immediately after its occurrence. 

6 By an account taken in 1803, the number of women 
sacrificed, during that year, within thirty miles round 
Calcutta, was two hundred and seventy-five. 

6 In the foregoing Report of six months, in 1804, it 
will be perceived that no account was taken of burnings 
in a district to the west of Calcutta, not further than 
twenty miles in some other directions; so that the 
whole number of burnings within thirty miles round 
Calcutta must have been considerably greater than is 
here stated.' 

The following account will give the reader 
some idea of the flagitious circumstances which, 
sometimes attend these sacrifices. 

SACRIFICE OF THE KOOLIN BRAHMIN's 
THREE WIVES. 

< Calcutta, 30th Sept. 1807. 

c A horrid tragedy was acted, on the 12th instant, near 
Barnagore (a place about three miles above Calcutta.) 
A Koolin Brahmin of Cammar-hatti, by name Kristo 
Deb Mookerjee, died at the advanced age of ninety- 



42 Cfjrfettan laesearrijes 



two. He had twelve wives ;* and three of them were 
burned alive with his dead body. Of these three, one 
was a venerable lady, having white locks, who had been 
long known in the neighbourhood. Not being able to 
walk, she was carried in a palanquin to the place of burn- 
ing j and was then placed by the Brahmins on the funeral 
pile. The two other ladies were younger; one of them 
had a very pleasing and interesting countenance. The 
old lady was placed on one side of the dead husband, 
and the two other wives laid themselves down on the 
other side ; and then an old Brahmin, the eldest son of 
the deceased, applied his torch to the pile, with unaverted. 
face. The pile suddenly blazed for it was covered with 
combustibles ; and this human sacrifice was completed 
amidst the din of drums and cymbals^ and the shouts of 
Brahmins. — A person present observed, i Surely if Lord 
Minto were here^ who is just come from England, and 



* The Kaolin Brahmin is the purest of all Brahmins, and is 
privileged to marry as many wives as he pleases. The Hindoo 
families account it an honour to unite their daughters with a 
Koolin Brahmin. " The Ghautucks or Registrars of the Koolin 
cast state that Rajeb Bonnerjee, now of Calcutta, has forty 
wives 5 and that Raj-ehunder Bonnerjee, also of Calcutta, has 
forty-two wives j and intends to marry more: that Ramraja 
Bonnerjee, of Bicrampore, aged thirty years, and Pooran 
Bonnerjee, Rajkissore Chutterjee, and Roopram Mookerjee, 
have each upwards of forty wives, and intend to marry more ; 
that Birjoo Mookerjee, of Bicrampore, who died about five 
years ago, had ninety wives." Th-is account was authenticated 
at Calcutta in the year 1804. See further particulars in 
i( Memoir" before quoted,, p. ill. 



respecting ti;e $tn&oo& 43 

is not used to see women burned alive, he would have 
saved these three ladies.' The Mahomedan Governors 
saved whom they pleased, and suffered no deluded female 
to commit suicide, without previous investigation of the 
circumstances, and official permission. 

* In a discussion which this event has produced in 
Calcutta, the following question has been asked, Who 

WAS GUILTY OF THE BLOOD OP THE OLD LADY? for 

it was manifest that she could not destroy herself? She 
ivas carried to be burned. It was also alleged that the 
Brahmin who fired the pile was not guilty, because he 
was never informed by the English government, that there 
was any immorality in the action. On the contrary, he 
might argue that the English, witnessing this scene daily, 
as they do, without remonstrance, acquiesced in its 
propriety. The Government in India was exculpated, on 
the ground that the Government at home never sent 
any instructions on the subjects and the Court of 
Directors were exculpated, because they were the agents 
of others. It remained that the Proprietors of India 
Stock, who originate and sanction all proceedings of the 
Court of Directors, were remotely accessary to 

THE DEED/ 

The best vindication of the great body of 
Proprietors, is this, that some of them never 
heard of the Female Sacrifice at all; and that 
few of them are acquainted with the full extent 
and frequency of the crime.*- Besides, in the 
above discussion, it was taken for orante'd ihat 



When Kao Lacka, Grandfather of the present Ch 



ier of 



44 Christian Eegearri)es 

the Court of Directors have done nothing to- 
wards the suppression of this enormity; and that 
the Court of Proprietors have looked on, with- 
out concern, at this omission of duty. — But 
this, perhaps, may not he the case. The ques- 
tion then remains to be asked. — Have the Court 
of Directors at any time sent instructions to their 
Government in India, to report on the means by 
which the frequency of the female sacrifice 
might be diminished, and the practice itself 
eventually abolished? Or have the Proprietors 
of India Stock at any time instructed the Court of 
Directors to attend to a point of so much conse- 
quence to the character of the Company, and the 
honour of , the nation ? 

That the abolition is practicable has been 
demonstrated : and that too by the most rational 
and lenient measures: and^these means have 
been pointed out by the Brahmins themselves.* 

<* Cutch died, FIFTEEN Rackelis (concubines) burnt af his 
{e funeral pile ; but not one of his wives sacrificed themselves 
<' on this occasion. This ceremony is less expected from the 
" wife than from the Rackeli ; and these unfortunate females 
i( conceive it a point of honour to consume themselves with 
" their Lords." 

See Colonel Walkers official Report, dated 15th March, 
1S08, transmitted by the Bombay Government to the Honour- 
able Court of Directors. Paragraph 160. 

* See them detailed in " Memoir," before qtto^d, p. 49. 



rejecting tlje |^fflaa&. 45 



Had Marquis Wellesley remained in India, 
and been permitted to complete his salutary 
plans for the improvement of that distant Em- 
pire (for he did not finish one half of the civil and 
political regulations which he had in view, and 
had actually commenced) the Female Sacrifice 
would probably have been by this time abolish- 
ed.* The humanity and intrepid spirit of that 
nobleman abolished a yet more criminal practice 
which was considered by the Hindoos as a 
religious rite, and consecrated by custom, I 
mean the Sacrifice of Children. His Lord- 
had been informed that it had been a custom of 
the Hindoos to sacrifice children in consequence 
of vows, by drowning them, or exposing them 
to Sharks and Crocodiles; and that twenty- 
three persons had perished at Saugor in one 
month (January 1801,) many of whom were 
sacrificed in this manner. He immediately in- 
stituted an inquiry into the principle of this 
ancient atrocity, heard what Natives and Euro- 
peans had to say on the subject; and then passed 
a law, " declaring the practice to be murder, 
Ct punishable by death." — The law is entitled, 
" A Regulation for preventing the Sacrifice of 



* Ibid, p, 47 , 



46 cijtfstfeu iResearrijes 

" Children at Saugor and other places ; passed 
" by the Governor-General in Council on the 
" 20th of August, 1802."— The purpose of this 
regulation was completely effected. Not a 
murmur was heard on the subject: nor has any 
attempt of the kind come to our knowledge 
since. It is impossible to calculate the number 
of human lives that have been saved, during the 
last eight years, by this humane law of Marquis 
Wellesley. — Now it is well known that it is as 
easy to prevent the sacrifice of women as the 
sacrifice of children. Has this fact ever been 
denied by any man who is competent to offer 
a judgment on the subject? Until the supreme 
Government in Bengal shall declare that it is 
utterly impracticable to lessen the frequency 
of the Immolation of Females by any means, 
the author will not cease to call the 
Attention of the English Nation to this 
subject. 

HINDOO INFANTICIDE; 

OR, 

MURDER OF FEMALE CHILDREN. 

The following relation will shew what human 
nature can believe and perpetrate when destitute 
of the light from heaven. 



respecting t!)e ^faTrotf& 47 



Among the Hindoo tribes called the Jarejah, 
in the provinces of Catch and Guzerat, in the 
West of India, it is a custom to destroy female 
infants. " The mother herself is commonly 
" the executioner of her own offspring. Wo- 
?1 men of rank may have their slaves and atten- 
'? dants, who perform this office, but the far 

greater number execute it with their own 
" hands. 5 '* — In defence of this practice, these 
tribes allege, that the education of daughters is 
expensive ; that it is difficult to procure a suit- 
able settlement for them in marriage ; that the 
preservation of female honor is a charge of soli- 
citude in a family ; and that when they want 
wives, it is more convenient to buy them, or 
solicit them from another cast, than to breed 
them themselves. 

* " They appear to bave several methods of destroying the 
" infant, but two are prevalent. Immediately after the birth 
" of a female, they put into its mouth some opium, or driw 
" the umbilical cord over the face, which prevents respiration. 
" But the destruction of so tender and young a subject is not 
" difficult, and it is effected without causing a struggle." 
Col. Walker's report, paragraph 55. — Col. W. further states, 
that Dadajee, the Chief of Raj-kut, being interrogated as to the 
mode of killing the infants, emphatically said, " What diffi- 
tf culty is there in blasting a flower ?" — He added, in allusion 
to the motives for infanticide, " that the Rubaries or Goat 
" Herds in his country, allow the male kids to die, when there 
" are many of them brought forth." 



48 c&vtettan iResearcIjeg 



This atrocity has been investigated and 
brought to light by the benevolent and truly 
laudable exertions of the Honourable Jonathan 
Duncan, Governor of Bombay ; to whom huma- 
nity is now indebted for one of her greatest vic- 
tories. Mr. Duncan had instructed Colonel 
Walker, late Political Resident in Guzerat, to 
inform himself, (in a military progress through 
that province) of the nature and extent of the 
practice of Infanticide, and, in the name of the 
British Government, to endeavour to effect its 
abolition. The Bombay Government has now 
transmitted to the Court of Directors the official 
report from that officer, dated the 15th March, 
1808 ; and from this document, detailed in 2^8 
paragraphs, the following facts are given to the 
public. This disclosure seems to have been di- 
rected by Providence, at this time, to aid the 
counsels of the British nation, when considering 
the obligations which are due from a Christian 
empire, in regard to the moral improvement of 
its heathen subjects. But the fact of Hindoo 
Infanticide is by no means new. * Mr. Duncan 
himself was instrumental in abolishing the crime 
among the tribe of the Raj-kumars, in Juanpore, 



* See it noticed in fC Memoir of the Expediency of an Ec- 
clesiastical Establishment for British India." 



respecting ti)t ®mm. 49 

near Benares in the year 1789. Indeed the 
unnatural custom seems to have subsisted for 
more than two thousand years ; for both Greek 
and Roman historians mention it, and refer to 
those very places (Barygaza or Baroach) where it 
is now to be found. The number of females 
who were thus sacrificed in Cutch and Guzerat 
alone, (for it is practised in several other pro- 
vinces) amounted, by the very lowest computa- 
tion, (in ISO?) to three thousand annually, 
Other calculations vastly exceed that number. 

Lieut. Colonel Alexander Walker had 
first the honour of appearing before this people, 
as the advocate of humanity. He addressed 
them in his official character, and, as ambassador 
from the British nation, he entreated them to 
suffer their daughters to live. It seems that they 
had means of appreciating the private character 
of this officer, and they respected his virtues : 
but in regard to this moral negotiation, they 
peremptorily refused even to listen to it.—The 
following are extracts of letters addressed to him 
on the occasion. 

Letter from the Jarejah Jehagee of Murrce, 
to Colonel Walker. — Mth Sept. 1807. 

" Your letter, Sir, I have received, in which it is writ- 
ten to rear up and protect our daughters : but the cir- 

E 



50 CJrtBftflm Eeseatcljes 



cumstances of this case are, that from time immemorial 
the Jarejahs have never reared their daughters, nor can it 
now be the case," 

From the Mother of J eha jee to Colonel Walker. 
QtfhSept. 1807. 

" Your letter has been received and its contents under- 
stood. You have called upon Koer Jehajee to rear up 
his daughters ; but it is so, that for many years past, 
none of the Jarejah tribes have ever reared their female 
offspring. Further particulars of this concern you will 
learn from Koer Jehajee's writing ; and you must excuse 
him on this score."— See No. 13 referred to in Colonel 
Walker's report. 

Letter from Futter Mahomed, Jemadar to 
Colonel Walker.— %Ut Oct. 1807. 

a It is notorious that since the Avatara (or Incarna- 
tion) of Sri Chrishna, the people (Jarejahs), who are 
descended from the Jadoos, have, during a period of 
4900 years, been accustomed to kill their daughters: 
and it has, no doubt, reached your knowledge, that all 
of God's creation, even the mighty Emperors of Hin- 
dostan,— besides all others, the conductors of the affairs 
of this world, have preserved friendship with this Court, 
and never acted in this respect (female infanticide) unrea- 
sonably. But you, who are an Amir (Lord) of the Great 
Sirkar, the Honorable Company, having written to me on 
tkis subject, I have derived much uneasiness, for it -does 



resptttins ti)t wmoos. 5l 

not accord with your good character. This Durbar has 
always maintained friendship with the Honorable Com- 
pany; and, notwithstanding this, you have acted so un- 
reasonably i„ this respect that I am much distressed— 
No one has, until this day, wantonly quarrelled with this 
Court, who has not, i„ the end, suffered loss.-Do not 
again address me on this subject."- See No. 20, as 
above. 

How conclusive, i„ regard to any further 
interference, would these letters have been 
deemed by some! « What more it would be 
- said, can be done with^fc—Enthusiasm 
a one would dictate further solicitude about 
tins matter." But Colonel Walker did not 
cles.st from his benevolent purposes, because he 
met with some obstacles; because he wished to 
overcome them.* He sought opportunities of 

* When Mr. Duncan, the Governor of Bombay, apprized 
the bupreme Government in Bengal of his intention to endea- 
vour to abolish the practice of murdering female children in 
Gnzerat, he received in answer, an expression of their appro- 
bation m the following measured terms ; dated the 31st July, 

i " We Cannot but contemplate with approbation the con- 
ti SK,Cratlons of humanity, which have induced you to com- 
^ fame, with the proposed expedition, the project of suppress- 
ing the barbarous custom of female infanticide. But the 

speculative S ucc ? . 5 even of that benevolent project, cannot 



52 Christian Eeseatcijes 

informing the understandings of the people in 
respect to the nature of the crime; and he dis- 
covered that it was generated directly by Pride, 
Avarice, and the alleged inferiority of woman. 
i{ By discussing the subject frequently in the 
" public Cutcherry, (the Court of Justice) and 
u exposing the enormity of the practice, as 
" contrary to the precepts of religion and the 
" dictates of nature, every cast came at length 
« to express an abhorrence of Infanticide; and 
* the obstinate principles of the Jarejahs began 
iff to be shaken/ 5 And what was the result 1 
Within twelve months of the date of the fore- 
going letters, Jarejah Jehajee himself, Jeha- 
jee's mother, and Futteii Mahomed, formally 
abjured the practice of Infanticide, and were 
^joon followed by the Jarejah tribes in general. 
Jehajee first transmitted a writing to the fol- 
lowing effect: " From motives of friendship 
ci the Honorable Company have urged me to 
" presage my daughters.— To this I consent, 
" if the chiefs of Nowanaggar and Gondal 



eC be considered to justify the prosecution of measures, which 
« may expose to hazard the essential interests of the state ; 
« although, as a collateral object, the pursuit of it would ba 
" worthy of the benevolence and humanity of the British 
" Government."— Moor's Hindu Infanticide, page 37. 



" agree." Shortly after, these chiefs did agree, 
and bound themselves by a solemn engagement, 
in 1808, to- discontinue the practice. 

About the end of the year 1809, many of the 
Jarejah Fathers brought their infant daughters 
to Colonel Walker's tent; " and exhibited them 
" with pride and fondness. Their mothers and 
" nurses also attended on this interesting occa- 
" sion. True to the feelings which are found 
" in other countries to prevail so forcibly, the 
" emotions of nature here exhibited were ex- 
" tremely moving. The mothers placed the 
" infants in the hands of Colonel Walker, call- 
" ing on him to protect what he alone had 
" taught them to preserve. These infants they 
(i emphatically called his children. "* 

The following is an extract of a letter from 
the Government of Bombay to the Honorable 
the Court of Directors, dated 20th January, 
1809.— " We congratulate your Honourable 
Court on the prospect thus afforded, of extir- 
pating from the Peninsula of Guzerat, a cus- 
tom so long prevalent, and so outrageous to 
humanity. This object will not be lost sight 
of: and, trusting to the aid of Divine Provi- 
dence, we look with confidence to its gradual, 



* Moor's Hindu Infanticide, p. 308. 



54 Christian meseatcljes 



but certain, accomplishment, to such a degree 
as may form an Era in the History of Guzerat, 
lastingly creditable to the English name and 
influence." 

This event affords an invaluable lesson con- 
cerning the character of the Hindoos, and the 
facility of civilizing them. What was effected 
in Guzerat, in regard to the murder of chil- 
dren, is equally practicable in Bengal as to the 
burning of women, and at Juggernaut as to 
self-murder under Moloch's Tower. " By dis- 
" cussing the subject frequently," says Colonel 
Walker, " in the public Cutcherry, and expos- 
" ing the enormity of the practice, as contrary 
" to the precepts of religion and the dictates 
" of nature, the obstinate principles of the 
" Jarejahs began to be shaken." Now we 
would ask, what is there to prevent the custom 
of burning women alive from being dis- 
cussed in the public Cutchery of Calcutta, and 
" exposing the enormity of the practice, as 
" contrary to the precepts of religion and the 
" dictates of nature ?" 

The English nation have a right to demand 
an answer to this question from the supreme 
Government in Bengal. 



respecting flje ^tntroo^ 55 

The number of females. sacrificed in the pro- 
vinces of Cutch and Guzerat, amounted (as was 
before-mentioned) to three thousand and upwards 
annually. (< The Jarejahs," says Colonel Wal- 
ker, " will sometimes remark, that their Gurus 
u (or Priests) are poor and despised ; which 
" they made no scruple of attributing to the 
" sin of Infanticide, and from the wrath of 
" God for having the weight of that crime on 
* their heads. This singular opinion, expressed 
" nearly in their own words, instead of pro- 
££ ducing an abhorrence of the act, has served 
<{ to confirm their idea, that they have nothing 
" to do with its responsibility and punishment." 
— Par. 189. It is worthy of remark, that in 
almost all countries, it is usual to impose the 
chief responsibility for national immorality on 
the Priests ; and we think with much justice. 
The moral turpitude of the rites of Juggernaut 
is, in this way, excused by the people. — " It is, 
say they, the sin of the Priests, not ours." 
In Christian countries, also, there is sometimes 
a secret persuasion in the minds of men, that 
the Priest preaches the doctrine of " the God 
of this world, and not the doctrine of Christ." 
But they try to justify themselves in listening 
to it, and in " conforming to the world." It is, 
say they, the sin of the Priest, not ours. It 



56 eijrtstmn Eesearcljes 

will, we apprehend, appear to be an awefui 
thing, at the hour of death, to have entered into 
the Priest's office, 

A Jarejah chief, by name Huttajee, who 
had preserved his daughters, contrary to the 
custom, brought them to the British camp to 
be vaccinated. They were between six and 
eight years of age, but they wore turbans, and 
were dressed and habited like boys, to avoid 
the taunts and reproaches of the people! — 
" As if ashamed or afraid of acknowledging 
" their sex, (even to the English) they assured 
" Colonel Walker that they were not girls; 
" and with infantile simplicity, appealed to 

their father to corroborate their assertion. *' — 
Par. 137. How shall we be able rightly to 
comprehend the mental debasement of this 
people ! No sooner doth God create an im- 
mortal soul in a female form, than the parent 
destroys it ! And if, by any means, the infant 
escape for a few years, she is contemplated as 
a reproach to their cast ! And yet, abhorrent to 
natural feeling as this may appear, it is certain 
that it is only the extreme degree of a principle, 
which is common to all the nations of the earth 
where Christianity is not known, — namely, 
a disposition to degrade the female character.— 
For. unless a man can consider woman as a 



m>pectmg tlje $fa&aos. 57 

partaker of the immortality of the Gospel, and 
i( as being an heir together with him of the 
" grace of life/'— 2 Pet. iii. 7, he will not ac- 
count her his equa 1 , or as entitled to equal 
honor. He will estimate her being in the scale 
merely of brute strength and of power of in- 
tellect ; that is, he will consider her as his 
inferior, and as formed to be the slave of his 
pleasures.— And, we may add, the infidelity of 
Europeans tends directly to the same result. 
It is on record in the annals of nations, that 
philosophy, as well as idolatry, debased thus 
the female sex. Christianity alone ever did, 
Christianity alone ever can, give due honor to 
the character of WOMAN, and exalt her to 
her just place in the creation of God* 

It will give pleasure to the mothers in Great 
Britain to hear that a translation of the Holy 
Scriptures is preparing for the inhabitants of 
Guzerat.f 



* See, on this subject, Appendix to the " Eras of Light," 
preached, by the Author, before the University of Cam- 
bridge. 

f The Guxerattee has been cultivated by Mr. Drummond, 
Surgeon on the Bombay Establishment, who composed a Dic- 
tionary and Grammar in that language. And it appears, from 
the Reports of the Missionaries at Serampore, that they had 



58 Cfyxtetim Mtmvtl)m 



TANJORE. • 

The Letters of King George the First to 
the Missionaries in India, will form a proper 
introduction to the account which it is now 
intended to give of the Christian Hindoos of 
Tanjore. The first Protestant Mission in India 
was founded hy Bartholomew Ziegenbalg, a 
man of erudition and piety, educated at the Uni- 
versity of Halle, in Germany. He was ordain- 
ed by the learned Burmannus, bishop of Zealand, 
in his twenty-third year, and sailed for India 
in J705. In the second year of his ministry he 
founded a Christian Church among the Hindoos, 
which has been extending its limits to the pre- 
sent time. In 1714, he returned to Europe 
for a short time, and on that occasion was 
honoured with an audience by His Majesty 
George the First, who took much interest in the 
success of the Mission. He was also patronized 
by " the Society for promoting Christian 



commenced a version of the Scriptures in Guzerattee. The 
Jarejahs are described by Governor Duncan, of Bombay, as 
te posses&ing but a very slight sense of religion j professing, 
f< indeed, but little more than nominally the Hindu faith, and 
u living almost indifferent (o the doctrines of any of the 
(t Sastras." — Moor's Infanticide, p. 3g. 



mputing tfje $nmw. 59 

Knowledge," which was superintended by men 
of distinguished learning and piety. The King 
and the Society, encouraged the Oriental Mis- 
sionary to proceed in his translation of the 
Scriptures into the Tamul tongue, which they 
designated " the grand work." This was indeed 
the grand work ; for wherever the Scriptures 
are translated into the vernacular tongue and 
are opened and common to all, inviting inquiry 
and causing discussion, they cannot remain 
" a dead letter." When the Scriptures speak to 
a heathen in his own tongue, his conscience re- 
sponds, " This is the word of God." How little 
is the importance of a version of the Bible in a 
new language, understood by some. The man 
who produces a translation of the Bible into a 
new language, (like Wickliffe, and Luther, and 
Ziegenbalg, and Carey) is a greater benefactor 
to mankind than the Prince who founds' an 
Empire. For the " incorruptible seed of the 
word "of God" can never die. After ages 
have revolved, it is still producing new acces- 
sions to truth and human happiness. 

In the year 1719, Ziegenbalg finished the 
Bible in the Tamul tongue, having devoted 
fourteen years to the work. The peculiar in- 
terest taken by the King in this primary endea- 
vour to evangelize the Hindoos, will appear from 



60 Cfttfettan mesearc&es 

the following letters, addressed to the Mission- 
aries by his Majesty. 

" George, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, 
" France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. to 
" the Reverend and Learned Bartholomew Ziegenbal- 
ee gius and John Ernest Grundlerus, Missionaries at 
" Tranquebar, in the East Indies. 

" Reverend and Beloved, 

" Your letters dated the 20th of January of the present 
" year, were most welcome to us ; not only because the 
" work undertaken by you of converting the heathen to 
" the Christian faith, doth, by the grace of God, prosper, 
" but also because that, in this our kingdom, such a lau- 
" dable zeal for the promotion of the gospel prevails. 

" We pray you may be endued with health and strength 
" of body, that you may long continue to fulfil your 
" ministry with good success ; of which, as we shall be 
" rejoiced to hear, so you will always find us ready to 
a succour you in whatever may tend to promote your 
<c work, and to excite your zeal. We assure you of the 
<( continuance of our royal favour. 

" GEORGE R. 

Given at our Palace of Hampton 
" Court, the 23d of August, 
" a. d. 1717, in the 4th year 
<f of our reign." 

The King continued to cherish, with much 
solicitude, the interests of the mission, after the 
death of Ziegenbalgius ; and in ten years from 
the date of the foregoing letter, a second wa§ 



respecting tt>e &toliaa& M 

addressed to the members of the mission, by his 
Majesty. 

" Reverend and beloved, 

" From your letters dated Tranquebar, the 12th of 
" September, 1725, which sometime since came to hand, 
" we received much pleasure ; since by them we are in- 
" formed, not only of your zealous exertions in the pro- 
" secution of the work committed to you, but also of 
u the happy success which hath hitherto attended it, and 
" which hath been graciously given of God. 

" We return you thanks for these accounts, and it will 
<l be acceptable to us, if you continue to communicate 
ce whatever shall occur in the progress of your mission. 

cc In the mean time, we pray you may enjoy strength 
sc of body and mind for the long continuance of your 
" labours in this good work, to the glory of God, and the 
(i promotion of Christianity among the heathens 3 that its 
(( perpetuity may not fail in generations to come* 

« GEORGE R, 

" Given at our Palace at St. James's, 
" the 23dof February, 1727, in 
" the 30th year of our Reign." 

But these Royal Epistles are not the only 
evangelic documents, of high authority, in the 
hands of the Hindoos. They are in possession 
of letters written by the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, of the same reign ;t who supported the 



* Niecamp'ms, Hist. Mist. 



f Archbishop Wake. 



62 Cijrfettau laeseatcljes 



interests of the mission with unexampled libera- 
lity, affection, and zeal. These letters, which are 
many in number, are all written in the Latin lan- 
guage. The following is a translation of his 
Grace's first letter; which appears to have been 
written by him as President of the " Society for 
" promoting Christian Knowledge." 

" To Bartholomew Ziegenbalgius, and John Ernest 
ee Grundlerus, Preachers of the Christian faith, on the 
" Coast of Coromandel. 

" As often as I behold your letters, Reverend Brethren, 
* c addressed to the venerable Society instituted for the 
" promotion of the Gospel, whose chief honour and 
66 ornament ye are, and as often as I contemplate the 
(e light of the Gospel, either now first rising on the 
" Indian nations, or after the intermission of some ages 
cc again revived, and as it were restored to its inheri- 
(e tance ; I am constrained to magnify that singular 
ec goodness of God in visiting nations so remote ; and 
" to account you, my Brethren, highly honoured, whose 
" ministry it hath pleased him to employ in this pious 
<e work, to the glory of his name, and the salvation of 
(e so many millions of souls. 

" Let others indulge in a ministry, if not idle, cer- 
" tainly less laborious, among Christians at home. 
" Let them enjoy in the bosom of the Church, titles 

and honours obtained, without labour and without 
u danger. Your praise it will be (a praise of endless 
6C duration on earth, and followed by a just recompense 
" in heaven) to have laboured in the vineyard which 



rejecting tf>e ^m&aog, es 



* yourselves have planted ; to have declared the name 
" of Christ, where it was not known before : and through 
" much peril and difficulty to have converted to the 
" faith those among whom ye afterwards fulfilled your 
" ministry. Your province, therefore, Brethren, your 
" office, I place before all dignities in the Church. 
" Let others be Pontiffs, Patriarchs, or Popes,- let them 
<< glitter in purple, in scarlet, or in gold ; let them seek 
(( the admiration of the wondering multitude, and re- 
" ceive obeisance on the bended knee. Ye have ac- 
" quired a better name than they, and a more sacred 
" fame. And when that day shall arrive when the chief 
" shepherd shall give to every man according to his work, 
m a greater reward shall be adjudged to you. Admitted 
" into the glorious society of the Prophets, Evangelists, 
" and Apostles, ye, with them shall shine, like the sun 
" among the lesser stars, in the kingdom of your Father, 
(c for ever. 

* Since then so great honour is now given unto you 

* by all competent judges on earth, and since so great 
m reward is laid up for you in heaven • go forth with 
;i alacrity to that work, to the which the Holy Ghost hath 
" called you. God hath already given to you an illus- 
" trious pledge of his favour, an increase not to be ex- 
" pected without the aid of his grace. Ye have begun 
sc happily, proceed with spirit. He, who hath carried 
" you safely through the dangers of the seas to such a 
I iemote country, and who hath given you favour in 
" the eyes of those whose countenance ye most desired, 

he who hath so liberally and unexpectedly ministered 
" unto your wants, and who doth now daily add members 
" to your Church • he will continue to prosper your en- 



64 Christian ifteseatcijes 



" deavours, and will subdue unto himself, by your 
cc means, the whole Continent of Oriental India. 

" O happy men ! who, standing before the tribunal 
« of Christ, shall exhibit so many nations converted 
« to his faith by your preaching: happy men ! to whom 
" it shall be given to say before the assembly of the 
« whole human, race, < Behold us, O Lord, and the 
" children whom thou hast given us;' happy men ! who 
" being justified by the Saviour, shall receive in that 
« day the reward of your labours, and also shall hear 
(i that glorious encomium ; c Well done, good and 
" faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord/ 

u May Almighty God graciously favor you and your 
ft labours in all things. May he send to your aid fellow- 
" labourers, such and as many as ye wish. May he 
" increase the bounds of your Churches. May he 
<f open the hearts of those to whom ye preach the 
" Gospel of Christ, that hearing you, they may receive 
" life-giving faith. May he protect you and yours from 
" all evils and dangers. And when ye arrive (may it 
" be late) at the end of your course, may the same 
a God, who hath called you to this work of the Gospel, 
" and hath preserved you in it, grant to you the re- 
<c ward of your labour, an incorruptible crown of 

« c These are the fervent wishes and Sprayers of, vene- 
" rable Brethren, 

" Your most faithful 

61 fellow-servant in Christ, 

« GULIELMUS CANT. 

e( From ouv Palace at Lambeth, 
January 7. a, d. I/I9." 



Providence hath been pleased to grant the 
prayer of the King, " that the work might not 

! fail in generations to come ; and the prophecy 
of his Archbishop is likely to be fulfilled., that 
it should extend "over the whole Continent of 
" Oriental India."— After the first Missionary, 
Ziegenbalg had finished his course, he was fol- 
lowed by other learned and zealous men, upwards 
of fifty in number, in the period of a hundred 

i years, among whom were Schultz, Jamicke 
Gericke, and Swartz, whose ministry has been 
continued in succession in different provinces, 
unto this time. The present state of the Mis- 

; sion will appear by the following extract from 

I the Journal of the Author's Tour through these 
provinces. 



< Tranqaebar, 25th August, 

c Tranquebar was the first scene of the Protestant 
Mission in India. There are at present three Mission- 
aries here, superintending the Hindoo congregations. 
Yesterday I visited the Church built by Ziegenbalg. 
His body lies on one side of the altar> and that of his a 
fellow Missionary Grundler on the other. Above are 
the epitaphs of both, written iu Latin, and engraved on 
plates of brass. The Church was consecrated in 171 8, 

F 



66 etjtfettan Hesearcijes 



and Ziegenbalg, and his companion, died in two years 
after. They laid the foundation for evangelizing India, 
and then departed < having finished the work, which was 
given them to do/ I saw also the dwelling-house of 
Ziegenbalg, in the lower apartment of which the regis- 
ters of the Church are still kept. In these I found the 
name of the first heathen baptized by him, and recorded 
in his own hand-writing in the year 1707.— In Zie- 
genbalg's Church, and from the pulpit where he stood, 
I first heard the Gospel preached to a congregation of 
Hindoos, in their own tongue. The Missionaries told 
me that religion had suffered much in Tranquebar, 
of late years, from European Infidelity. French prin- 
ciples had corrupted the Danes, and rendered them in- 
different to their own religion, and therefore hostile to 
the conversion of the Hindoos. 6 Religion/ said they, 
e flourishes more among the natives of Tanjore and in 
other provinces where there are few Europeans, than here 
or at Madras ; for we find that European example in the 
large towns, is the bane of Christian instruction/— One 
instance of hostility to the Mission they mentioned, a&- 
having occurred only a few weeks before my arrival. On 
• the 9th of July, 1756', the native Christians at Tranque- 
hav celebrated a Jubilee, in commemoration of the 
fiftieth year since the Christian ministers brought the 
Bible from Europe. The present year 1806, being 
the second 50th, preparations were made at Tranque- 
bar for the second Jubilee, on the 9th of last month ; 
but the French principles preponderating, the Govern- 
ment would not give it any public support ; in con- 
sequence of which the Jubilee was not observed witk 



mpntins tf>e fytaum. 67 

that solemnity which was intended. But in other places 

where there were few Europeans, it was celebrated by the 

native Christian with enthusiasm and every demonstra- 
tion of J0y . men , expressed ^ aston;shment at 

tins hostility, the aged Missionary, Dr. John, said, ' I 
have always remarked that the disciples of Voltaire are 
the true enemies of Missions, and that the enemies of 
Missions are, in general, the disciples of Voltaire 



' Tanjore, 30th August, 1806. 

' °" m * enterin » th;s Prince, I stopped an hour at a 
v.iiage near the road j and there I first heard the name of 
Swartz pronounced by a Hindoo. When I arrived at 
the capital, I waited on Major Blacjcburne, the British 
resident at the Court of Tanjore, who informed me that 
the Rajah had appointed the next day at 12 o'clock to 
receive my visit. On the same day I went to a place 
ca led Swartz's garden. It is close to the ChrLian 
v.Uage, where the Rev. Mr. Kolhoff resides. Mr Kol- 
hoff is the worthy successor of Mr. Swartz ; and with him 
I found the Rev. Dr. John, and Mr. Horst, two other 
Missionaries who were on a visit to Mr. Kolhoff. 

Next day I visited the Rajah of Tanjore, in company 
With MajorBlackburne. When the first ceremonial wZ 
over, the Rajah conducted us to the grand saloon, which 
was adorned by the portraits of his ancestors j and im- 
mediately led me up to the portrait of Mr. Swartz. He 
then discoursed for a considerable time concerning < that 



68 Cftrfettan iReseattljes 

good man* whom he ever revered as ' his father and 
guardian/ The Rajah speaks and writes English very 
intelligibly.— I smiled to see Swartz's picture among 
these Hindoo kings, and thought with myself that there 
are many who would think such a combination scarcely 
possible. — I then addressed the Rajah, and thanked him, 
in the name of the Church of England, for his kindness 
to the late Mr. Swartz, and to his successors, and parti- 
cularly for his recent acts of benevolence to the Christian* 
residing within his provinces. The missionaries had 
just informed me that the Rajah had erected ' a College 
for Hindoos, Mahometans, and Christians in which 
provision was made for the instruction of e fifty Christian 
children/ His Highness is very desirous that I should 
visit this College, which is only about sixteen miles from 
the capital.— Having heard of the fame of the ancient 
Shanscrit, and Mahratta Library of the kings of Tanjore, 
I requested his Highness would present a catalogue of 
its volumes to the College of Fort-William ; which he 
was pleased to do. It is voluminous, and written in the 
Mahratta character 5 for that is the proper language of the 
Tanjore Court. 

6 In the evening I dined with the Resident, and the 
Rajah sent his band of music, consisting of eight or 
more Vinas with other instruments. The Vina or Been % 
is the ancient instrument which Sir William Jones has 
described in his interesting descant on the musical science 
of the Hindoos, in the Asiatic Researches, and the sight 
of which, he says, he found it so difficult to obtain in 
northern India. The band played the English air of 
( God save the King,' set to Mahratta words, and applied 



n$$ettixt$ tl)t $mti00& €9 



to the Maha Rajah, or Great King of Tanjore. Two of 
the Missionaries dined at the Resident's house, together 
with some English officers. Mr. Kolhoff informed me 
that Major Blackburne has promoted the interests of the 
Missions by every means in his power. Major Black- 
burne is a man of superior attainments, amiable manners, 
and a hospitable disposition ; and is well qualified for the 
important station he has long held,- as English Resident 
at this Court. 

( On the day following, I went to view the Hindoo 
Temples, and saw the great Black Bull of Tanjore. 
It is said to be of one stone, hewn out of a rock of granite ; 
and so large that the Temple was built around it. While 
I surveyed it, I reflected on the multitudes of natives, who 
during the last hundred years, had turned away their eyes 
from this Idol — When I returned, I sat some hours with 
the Missionaries, conversing on the general state of 
Christianity in the provinces of Tanjore, Tritchinopoly, 
Madura, and Palamcottah. They want help. Their 
vineyard is increased, and their labourers are decreased. 
They have had no supply from Gemany in the room of 
Swartz, Jaenicke, andGericke ; and they have no prospect 
of further supply, except from 6 the Society for promot- 
ing Christian Knowledge ; who they hope will be able to 
send out English Preachers to perpetuate the Mission/ 



70 c\)vi$tim Witmxt\)t$ 



c Tanjore, Sept. 2, 1806. 

c Last Sunday and Monday were interesting days to 
me, at Tanjore. It being rumoured that a friend of the 
late Mr. Swartz had arrived, the people assembled from 
all quarters. On Sunday three Sermons were preached 
in three different languages. — At eight o'clock we pro- 
ceeded to the Church built by Mr. Swartz within the 
Fort. From Mr. Swartz's pulpit I preached in English 
from Mark xiii. 10. 'And the Gospel must first be 
published among all nations/ The English gentlemen 
here attended, civil and military, with the Missionaries, 
Catechists, and British soldiers. After this service was 
ended, the congregation of Hindoos assembled in the 
same Church, and filled the aisles and porches. The 
Tamul service commenced with some forms of prayer, 
in which all the congregation joined with loud fervour. 
A chapter of the Bible was then read, and a hymn of 
Luther's sung. After a short extempore prayer, during 
Which the whole congregation knelt on the floor, the Rev. 
Dr. John delivered an animated Discourse in the Tamul 
tongue, from these words, 6 Jesus stood and cried, saying, 
If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink,'— As 
Mr. Whitfield, on his first going to Scotland, was surpris- 
ed at the rustling of the leaves of the Bible, which took 
place immediately on his pronouncing his text (so diffe- 
rent from anything he had seen in his own country) sol 
was surprised here at the sound of the iron pen engraving 



respecting tfc'fywam. 



71 



the Palmyra leaf. Many persons had their OUas in their 
hands writing the sermon in Tamul short-hand. Mr. 
Kolhoff assured me that some of the elder Students and 
Catechists will not lose a word of the preacher if he speak 
deliberately* This, thought I, is more than some of the 
Students at our English Universities can do. This apti- 
tude of the people to record the words of the preacher, 
renders it peculiarly necessary 6 that the priest's lips should 
keep knowledge. An old rule of the Mission is, that the 
sermon of the morning should be read to the Schools in 
the evening, by the Catechist, from his Palmyra leaf. 

' Another custom obtains among them which pleased 
me much. In the midst of the discourse the preacher 
sometimes puts a question to the congregation ; who 
answers it without hesitation, in one voice. The object 
is to keep their attention awake, and the, minister gene- 
rally prompts the answer himself. Thus suppose that he 
is saying, < My dear Brethren, it is true that your 
profession of the faith of Christ is attended with some 
reproach, and that you have lost your cast with the 
Brahmins. But your case is not peculiar. The man of 
the world is the man of cast in Europe ; and he despises 
the humble and devout disciple of Christ, even as your 
Brahmin contemns the Sooder. But, thus it hath been 
from the beginning. Every faithful Christian must lose 
cast for the Gospel ; even as Christ himself, the Fore- 



* It is well known that natives of Tanjore and Travancor® 
can write fluently what is spoken deliberately. They do not 
look much at their ollas while writing. The fibre of the leaf 
guides the pen. 



72 Cijrfettan iaeseattfies 



runner, made himself of no reputation, and was despised 
and rejected of men. In like manner, you will be 
despised ; but be of good cheer, and say, Though we 
have lost our cast and inheritance amongst men, we shall 
receive in heaven a new name and a better inheritance, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord/ He then adds, ' What, 
my beloved Brethren, shall you obtain in heaven V They 
answer, ( A new name and a better inheritance, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord/ It is impossible for a stranger 
not to be affected with this scene. — This custom is de- 
duced from Ziegenbalg, who proved its use by long expe- 
rience. 

6 After the Sermon was ended, I returned with the 
Missionaries into the vestry or library of the Church. 
Here I was introduced to the Elders and ^Catechists of 
the congregation. Among others came Sattianaden, 
the Hindoo preacher, one of whose Sermons was pub- 
lished in England some years ago, by the Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge. He is now advanced 
in years, and his black locks have grown gray. As I 
returned from the Church, I saw the Christian families 
going back in crowds to the country, and the boys look- 
ing at their ollas. What a contrast, thought I, is this to 
the scene at Juggernaut ! Here there is becoming dress, 
humane affections, and rational discourse. I see here no 
skulls, no self-torture, no self-murder, no dogs and vul- 
tures tearing human flesh ! Here the Christian virtues 
are found in exercise by the feeble-minded Hindoo, in 
& vigour and purity which will surprise those who have 

ei known the native character but under the greatest 
disadvantages* as in Bengal, It certainly surprised 



rejecting tfte ^tnfioo^ n 

myself ; and when I reflected on the moral conduct, up- 
right dealing, decent dress, and decorous manners of the 
native Christians of Tanjore, I found in my breast a new 
evidence of the peculiar excellence and benign influence 
of the Christian Faith. 

e At four o'clock in the afternoon, we attended Divine 
Service at the Chapel in the Mission Garden out of the 
Fort. The Rev. Mr. Horst preached in the Portuguese 
Language. The organ here accompanied the voice hi 
singing. I sat on a granite stone which covered the 
grave of Swartz. The epitaph is in English verse, 
written by the present Rajah, and signed by him, 
f Serfogee.'— In the evening Mr. Kolhoff presided at 
the exercise in the schools : on which occasion the 
Tamul Sermon was repeated ; and the boys' ollas ex- 
amined. 

c In consequence of my having expressed a wish to 
hear Sattianaden preach, Mr. Kolhoff had given notice 
that there would be divine service next day, Monday. 
Accordingly the chapel in Swartz's garden was crowded 
at an early hour. Sattianaden delivered his Discourse 
in the Tamul language, with much natural eloquence, 
and with visible effect. His subject was the < Marvel- 
lous Light.' He first described the pagan darkness, 
then the light of Ziegenbalg, then the light of Swartz, 
and then the heavenly light, ' when there shall be no 
more need of the light of the sun, or of the moon.' In 
quoting a passage from Scripture, he desired a lower 
minister to read it, listening to it as to a record ; and 
then proceeded to the illustration. The responses by 
the audience were more frequently called for than in 



74 Cfjrfettan iaeseatcfjeg 



the former Sermon. He concluded with praying fer- 
vently for the glory and prosperity of the Church of 
England. — After the Sermon, I went up to Sattianaden, . 
and the old Christians who had known Swartz came ^ 
around us. They were anxious to hear something of 
the progress of Christianity in the North of India. 
They said they had heard good news from Bengal. I told 
them that the news were good, but that Bengal was 
exactly a hundred years behind Tanjore. 

c I have had long conversations with the Missionaries 
relating to the present circumstances of the Tanjore 
Mission. It is in a languishing state at this moment, 
in consequence of the war on the Continent of Europe. , 
Two of its sources have dried up, the Royal College at 
Copenhagen, and the Orphan-house at Halle, in Ger- 
many. Their remaining resource from Europe is the 
Stipend of ' The Society for promoting Christian Know- 
ledge whom they never mention but with emotions of 
gratitude and affection. But this supply is by no means 
commensurate with the increasing number of their 
Churches and Schools. The chief support of the Mission 
is derived from itself. Mr. Swartz had in his life time 
acquired a considerable property, through the kindness of 
the English Government and of the Native Princes. 
When he was dying, he said, c Let the cause of Christ 
be my heir.' When his colleague, the pious Gericke, 
was departing, he also bequeathed his property to the 
Mission. And now Mr. KolhofF gives from his private 
funds an annual sum ; ndfethat he can well afford it ; but 
the Mission is so extended, that he gives it, he told me, 
to preserve the new and remote congregations in existence 



He stated that there were upwards of ten thousand Pro- 
testant Christians belonging to the Tanjore and Tinavelly 
districts alone, who had not among them one complete 
copy of the Bible ; and that not one Christian perhaps in 
a hundred, had a New Testament ; and yet there are some 
copies of the Tamul Scriptures still to be sold at Tran- 
quebar : but the poor natives cannot afford to purchase 
them. When I mentioned the designs of the Bible 
Society in England, they received the tidings with very 
sensible emotions of thankfulness. Mr. Horst said, If 
only every tenth person were to obtain a copy of the 
Scriptures, it would be an event long to be remembered 
in Tanjore. They lamented much that they were desti- 
tute of the aid of a printing-press, and represented to me 
that the progress of Christianity had been materially re- 
tarded of late years by the want of that important auxi- 
liary. They have petitioned the Society for promoting 
Christian Knowledge to send them one. They justly 
observed, If you can no longer send us Missionaries to 
preach the Gospel, send us the means of printing the 
Gospel * The Tranquebar Mission and the Madras 



* The Brahmins in Tanjore have procured a press, " which 
they dedicate (say the Missionaries, in their last letter) to the 
glory of their gods :" but their Missionaries, who first intro- 
duced the civilization of Christianity at the Tanjore capital, are 
still without one. Printing is certainly the legitimate instru- 
ment of the Christian for the pomulgation of Christianity. We 
Protestants have put it into the hands of the Brahmins, and we 
ought to see to it that the teachers of our own religion are pos- 
sessed of an equal advantage. 



76 



e&ttetfan Eeseatdjes 



Mission have both possessed printing-presses for a long 
period ; by the means of which they have been exten- 
sively useful in distributing the scriptures and religious 
publications in several languages. The Mission Press at 
Tranquebar may be said to have been the fountain of all 
the good that was done in India during the last century. 
It was established by Ziegenbalg. From this press, in 
conjunction with that at Halle, in Germany, have proceed- 
ed volumes in Arabic, Syriac, Hindostanee, Tamul, 
Telinga, Portuguese, Danish, and English. I have in my 
possession the Psalms of David in the Hindostanee 
Language, printed in the Arabic character ; and the His- 
tory of Christ in Syriac intended probably for the Syro- 
Romish Christians on the sea-coast of Travancore, 
whom a Danish missionary once visited, both of which 
volumes were edited by the Missionaries of Tranquebar. 
There is also in Swartz's Library at Tanjore a grammar of 
the Hindostanee Language in quarto, published at the 
same press ; an important fact which was not known at 
the College of Fort- William, when Professor Gilchrist 
commenced his useful labours in that Language." 



« Tanjore, Sept. 3, 1806, 

6 Before I left the capital of Tanjore, the Rajah was 
pleased to honour me with a second audience. On thi^ 
occasion he presented to me a portrait of himself, a very 
striking likeness, painted by a Hindoo artist at the Tan- 



respecting tlje ^tnHoos. 77 

jore Court.*— The Missionary, Dr. John, accompanied 
me to the palace. The Rajah received him with much 
kindness, and presented to him a piece of gold cloth. 
Of the resident Missionary, Mr. Kolhoff, whom the 
Rajah sees frequently, he spoke to me in terms of high 
approbation. This cannot be very agreeable to the Brah- 
mins ; but the Rajah, though he yet professes the Brah- 
minicai religion, is no longer obedient to the dictate of 
the Brahmins, and they are compelled to admit his supe- 
rior attainments in knowledge. — I passed the chief part 
of this morning in looking over Mr. Swartz's manuscripts 
and books : and when I was coming away, Mr. Kolhoff 
presented to me a Hebrew Psalter, which had been Mr* 
Swartz's companion for fifty years ; also a brass lamp 
which he had got first when a Student at the College of 
Halle, and had used in his lucubrations to the time of his 
death; for Mr. Swartz seldom preached to the natives with- 
out previous study. I thought I saw the image of Swartz 
in his successor. Mr. Kolhoff is a man of great simpli- 
city of manners, of meek deportment, and of ardent 
zeal in the cause of revealed Religion, and of humanity* 
He walked with me through the Christian village close 
to his house; and I was much pleased to see the affec- 
tionate respect of the people towards him ; the young 
people of both sexes coming forward from the doors on 
both sides, to salute him and receive his benediction. 'f 



* It is now placed in the public Library of the University of 
Cambridge. 

t That I may give to those who are interested in the promo- 
tion of Christianity in the East, a more just view of the cha- 



TP e&tfettau Eeseatcljes 



f September 4th, 1806, 
' Leaving Tanjore, T passed through the woods in- 
habited by the Collaries (or thieves) now humanized by 
Christianity. When they understood who I was, they 
followed me on the road, stating their destitute condition, 



racter of Swartz's successor, the Rev. Mr. Kolhoff, I shall sub- 
join an Extract of a Letter which I have since received from 
the Rev. Mr. Horst. 

" Tanjore, Sept. 24, 180?. 

" The Rev. Mr. Kolhoff is sometimes rather weak, on ac- 
count of so many and various cares that assail him without 
ceasing. He provides for the wants of this and the Southern 
Missions (Tritchinopoly excepted) by disbursing annually 
upwards of one thousand pagodas (about 2501. sterling) out 
of his private purse, partly to make up the difference between 
the income and expenditure of this and the Southern Mission 
(of which I annex an abstract) and the rest in assisting the 
deserving poor, without regard to religion ; and for various pious 
uses. To him as Arbitrator and Father, apply all Christians that 
are at variance, disturbed from without or from within, out of 
service or distressed ; for most of our Christians will do any 
thing rather than go to law. 

" All these heterogeneous, but, to a Missionary at Tanjore, 
unavoidable avocations, joined to the ordinary duties of his sta- 
tion, exercise his mind early and late ; and if he be not of a 
robust constitution, will undermine his health at last. Happily , 
several neighbouring Churches and new congregations, belong- 
ing to the Mission of Tanjore, afford Mr. Kolhoff frequent op- 
portunities to relax his mind, and to recruit his health and spi- 



rejecting fte &ftinn& 79 



in regard to religious instruction. They were clamorous 
for Bibles. They supplicated for teachers. e We don't 
want bread or money from you/ said they ; 6 but we 
want the word of God.'— Now, thought I, whose duty is 
it to attend to the moral wants of this people ? Is it that 
©f the English natioH, or of some other nation 



' Tntchinopoly, September 5 tlu 

'The first Church built by Swartz is at this place, 
jt is called Christ's Church, and is a large building, 
capable of containing perhaps two thousand people. The 
aged Missionary, the Rev. Mr. Pohle, presides over this 
Church, and over the native congregations at this place. 
Christianity flourishes ; but I found that here, as at other 
places, there is a < famine of Bibles.' The Jubilee was 
celebrated on the 19th of July, being the hundredth year 
from the arrival of the messengers of the Gospel. On 
this occasion their venerable Pastor preached from Matth. 
xxviii. 19. < Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 



rits, by making occasional short excursions to see these new 
Christians, who were professed thieves only a few years ago, and 
many of them are now an honour to the Christian profession, and 
industrious peasants. It is pleasing to behold the anxiety with 
which a great number of our Christian children inquire at such 
times when their father will return ; and how they run several 
miles to meet him with shouts and clapping of hands, and 
hymns of thanks to God, as soon as they discern his palankeen at 
£ distance," 



go Christian iaeseatcjjes 



Son, and of the Holy Ghost/ — At this station, there are? 
about a thousand English troops. Mr. Pohle being a 
German, does nokspeak English very well ; but lie is 
reverenced for his piety by the English ; and both officers 
and men are glad to hear the religion of their country 
preached in any way.— On the Sunday morning, I preach- 
ed in Christ's Church to a full assembly, from these words, 
6 For we have seen his Star in the East, and are come to 
worship him/ Indeed, what I had seen in these provin- 
ces rendered this text the most appropriate I could select. 
Next day some of the English soldiers came to me, desi- 
ring to know how they might procure Bibles. 6 It is a 
delightful thing,' said one of them, ' to hear our own 
religion preached by our own countryman.' I am inform- 
ed that there are at this time above twenty English regi- 
ments in India, and that not one of them has a chaplain. 
The men live without religion, and when they die, they 
bury each other ! O England, England ! it is not for 
thine own goodness that Providence giveth thee the 
treasures of India ! 

' I proceed hence to visit the Christian Churches in 
the provinces of Madura, and Tinnavelly.' 

The friends of Christianity in India have had 
it in their power to afford some aid to the Chris- 
tian Churches in Tanjore. On the 1st of Janu- 
ary, 1810, the Rev. Mr. Brown preached a Ser- 
mon at Calcutta, in which he represented the 
petition of the Hindoos for Bibles. A plain 
statement of the fact was sufficient to open the 



rejecting tfje $mmm it 

hearts of the public. A subscription was imme- 
diately set on foot, and Lieut.-General Hewitt, 
Commander-in-Chief, then Deputy Governor in 
Bengal, subscribed 2501. The chief officers of 
government, and the principal inhabitants of 
Calcutta, raised the subscription, in a few days, 
to the sum of 10001. sterling. Instructions 
were sent to Mr. Kolhoff to buy up all the 
copies of the Tamul Scriptures, to distribute 
them at a small price amongst the natives, and 
order a new edition to be printed off without loss 
of time.* 



* The chief names in this subscription, besides that of 
General Hewitt, were Sir John Royds, Sir. W. Burroughs 
JohnLumsden, esq. George Udney, esq. J. H. Harrington' 
esq. S,r John D'Oyley, Colonel Carey, John Thornhill, esq. 
R. C. Plowden, esq. Thos. Hayes, esq. W. Egerton, esq. 
&c. &c. 4 

Thus, while we are disputing in England whether the Bible 
ought to be given to the Hindoos, the Deputy Governor in 
Bengal, the Members of the Supreme Council, and of the 
Supreme Court of Judicature, and the chief officers of the 
Government, after perusing the information concerning the 
state of India sent from this country, are satisfied that it is an 
important duty, and a Christian obligation. 



8 



Christian Eeseatcljeg 



VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES 
FOR THE HINDOOS. 

Having now seen what the Hindoos are in 
their state of idolatry, as at Juggernaut, and 
in Bengal ; and what they may become under 
the influence of Christianity, as at Tranquebar, 
Tritchinopoly, and Tanjore, it remains, that we 
give some account of the translation of the Scrip- 
tures into the languages of the Hindoos* 

There are five principal languages spoken by 
Hindoos in countries subject to the British 
Empire. These are, the Hindostanee, which 
pervades Hindostan generally; and the four 
languages of the four great provinces, viz. the 
Bengalee, for the province of Bengal; the Te- 
linga, for the Northern Sircars ; the Tamul, for 
Goromandel and the Carnatic ; and the Malay- 
glim or Malabar, for the coast of Malabar and 
Travancore. 

Of these five languages, there are two into 
which the Scriptures are already translated ; the 
Tamal, by the Danish Missionaries in the last 
century; and the Bengalee, by the Baptist Mis- 
sionaries from England. The remaining three 
languages are in progress of translation ; 



reverting tfre &tahoo& 

Bmdostanee, by the Rev. Henry Kfaniif, B. D. 
Chaplain in Bengal ; the Malabar, by Mar Dio- 
nysius, Bishop of the Syrian Christians in Tra- 
vancore; both of which translations will be 
noticed more particularly hereafter; and the 
Tdinga, by Ananda Rayer, a Teliiiga Brahmin, 
by birth a Mahratta, tinder the superintendance 
of Mr. Augustus Desgranges, at Vkagapatam, 
a Missionary belonging to the London Soci- 
ety.* 

Ananda Rayer, a Brahmin of high cast, was 
lately converted to the Christian faith, and has 
given undoubted proofs of the serious impres- 
sion of its principles on his heart. f It is remark- 



* The Christian church has now to lament the loss of two 
of the Translators of the Holy Scriptures, mentioned in tins 
page, viz. the venerable bishop of the Syrian church, Mar 
Dionysius, and the young missionary, Mr. Augustus Desgran^ 
Their works do follow them. R ev . xuL 14 « p ray „ e 
therefore, the Lord of the « Harvest that ye would send forth 
ruore labourers into his .« Harvest/' luke x. 2. SecoM 
Edition. 

f The Account of Ananda Bayer's conversion is given by 
the Rev. Dr. John, the aged Missionary at Tranquebar in 
a letter to Mr. De.granges.-This Brahmin applied, (as many 
Brahmins and ether Hindoos constantly do) to an oVer Brar 
ftin of some fame for sanctity, to know, - what he should do 
! that he m; 3 ht ^ saved ?" The old Brahmin told him that 
roust repeat a certain prayer four lack of times: that is, 
6 o 



84 Cfnrtrtfai iReseatct>es 

able that versions of the Scriptures should be 
now preparing for the Mahomedans and Hin- 

400,000 times. This he performed in a Pagoda, in six months ; 
and added many painful ceremonies. But finding no comfort or 
peace from these external rights, he went to a Romish Priest, 
and asked him if he knew what was the true religion ? The 
Priest gave him some Christian books in the Telinga language, 
and, after a long investigation of Christianity, the inquiring 
Hindoo had no doubt remaining on his mind, that " Christ was 
the " Saviour of the world." But he was not satisfied with the 
Komish worship in many points : he disliked the adoration of 
images, and other superstitions j and having heard from the 
Priests themselves, that the Protestant Christians at Tanjore 
and Tranquebar, professed to have a purer faith, and had got 
the Bible translated, and worshipped no images ; he visited 
Dr. John and other Missionaries at Tranquebar, where he 
remained four months, conversing, says Dr. John, " almost 
" every day with me," and examining the Holy Scriptures. 
Be soon acquired the Tamul language (which has affinity with 
the Telinga) that he might read the Tamul translation 3 and 
he finally became a member of the Protestant Church. 

The Missionaries at Vizagapatam being in want of a learned 
Telinga scholar to assist them in a translation of the Scriptures 
into the Telinga language, Dr. John recommended Ananda 
Rayer ; <e for he was averse," says he, " to undertake any 
" worldly employment, and had a great desire to be useful to 
cf his brethren of the Telinga nation." The reverend Mis- 
sionary concludes thus : t( What Jesus Christ hath required of 
his followers, this man hath literally done 3 he hath left 
« father, mother, sisters, and brothers, and houses and lands,, 
" for the Gospel's sake." 

See Dr. John s Letter, dated 29th January, 1808, commu- 
nicated to the Bible Society, by the Rev. Mr. Brown.'. 



doos, by their own converted countrymen;— 
namely, the Persian and Arabic versions, by 
Sabat the Arabian ; and the Telinga version, 
by Ananda Rayer, the Telinga Brahmin. 
The latter has translated the four Gospels, and 
the Acts of the Apostles. The progress of 
Sabat in his translations will be noticed here- 
after. 



THE 

SHANSCRIT SCHOOL. 

The Baptist Mission, in Bengal, commenced 
about the year 1793; and to it chiefly belongs 
the honor of reviving the spirit for promoting 
Christian knowledge, by translations of the 
Holy Scriptures. By the cultivation of the 
Shanscrit language, which is the parent of 
many others, they find it easy to superintend 
versions in the cognate tongues, such as the 
Orissa, Mahratta, Bengalee, Carnata, and Gu- 
zerattee. The primeval Shanscrit, like an aged 
Banian Tree, has many daughters growing 
round her in Hindostan. Dr. Carey is dis- 
tinguished for his acquisitions in this language, 
and has published a copious Grammar of it. 



36 Christian iaeseart&es 

He has also composed short Grammars in the 
Mahratta and Bengalee tongues ; and, in con- 
junction with his fellow-missionary, Mr. Marsh, 
man, has translated into English two volumes 
of the ancient Shanscrit work, called the Ma* 
maywa; and performed various other services 
to Oriental literature. The labours of Mr. 
$Iarshmari in the Chinese, have been already 
noticed. 

The following is the state of the translations 
at the Mission Press at Serampore, as extracted 
from the last Report. 

g>l)anSCrtt, . . ? New Testament printed; 

and part of the Penta- 
teuch. 

Bengalee, . . . The whole Bible printed, 
Orissa, .... New Testament printed ; 

and part of the Old 
Testament. 

Mahratta, . . . Gospels and Acts printed. 
Hindostanee, . . New Testament printed 

to the end of Romans. 

Besides these languages, and the Chinese 
before-mentioned, translations had been com- 
menced in the Seik, the Carnata, Teljnga, Gih 
pitrattee > and Barman. 



respecting tlje )£>mTj0a0* 87 

It has been objected that the same persons 
cannot; possibly arrive at a critical knowledge 
of so many languages. And it is true that 
every one of the above is as difficult to acquire 
and pronounce, as French, Greek, or Latin; 
and, perhaps, there is no instance on record 
of a man being able to preach, or compose, in 
more than two languages well. But it is to be 
understood that the natives themselves are pro- 
perly the translators • and if we haye confidence 
in the integrity of the man, we may depend 
with some certainty on the integrity of the 
translation. Besides, it. is well known that it 
does not require a profound knowledge of a 
language to superintend a translation in it, and 
to detect wilful and flagrant error. For in 
stance, a scholar in England may judge of the 
accuracy of a version from the Greek language, 
though he cannot preach in Greek. Another 
consideration is, that no translation can be 
absolutely perfect. Our English translation is 
not perfect; nor is it necessary that it should. 
Slight variations in words affect not the essen- 
tial doctrines, or important facts, of the Bible, 
any more than spots in the Sun obscure its 
light. The light of truth still shines upon us, 
the Will of God is still revealed to us, though 
the idiom of the language in which it is con- 



veyed, be changed from age to age ; or though 
some of the original words, in which that Will 
was first given, be lost from the page for 
ever. 

It is, moreover, to be considered how impor- 
tant it is that even the smallest portion of Holy 
Scripture be translated into a new language. — 
" All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
" and is profitable for instruction in righteous- 
" ness."— 2 Tim. iii. 16. A single book, a sin- 
gle chapter has often been blessed to the con- 
version of individuals, both in England and in 
India; and they have died in the faith without 
knowing much of other parts of the Bible. 
How many excellent Christians in our own 
country die in early life, without knowing any 
thing of the prophetical books ?— -How many 
remain ignorant, even to advanced years, of the 
spiritual analogies of the Levitical Law? We 
have no hesitation in laying down this posi- 
tion : The more translations of the Scriptures the 
Missionaries commence, the better. Even in 
their most imperfect state, like Wickliffe's ver- 
sion in a remote age, they will form a basis for 
gradual improvement by succeeding generations. 
Besides, the very best translation must, in the 
lapse of ages, change with a changing lan- 
guage, like the leaves of a tree which fall m 



respecting tlje Cegtouese, $9 

autumn and are renewed in spring. The two 
original languages of Revelation are by the 
Providence of God preserved to us, (how won- 
derful that Providence !) and remain constant; 
but the living tongues will be ever varying and 
flowing, like a stream, to the end of time. 



THE CEYLONESE. 

Iisr the island of Ceylon, the population under 
the British Government amounts, according to 
the best authorities, to upwards of a million tnd 

half ; and one third is supposed to profess 
Christianity. This population was divided by 
the Dutch, while they had possession of the 
island, into 240 church-ships, and three native 
schoolmasters were appointed to each church- 
ship. The Dutch government never gave an 
official appointment to any native who was not a 
Christian ; a distinction which was ever consider- 
ed by them as a wise policy, as well as a Chris- 
tian duty, and which is continued by his Majes- 
ty's Government in Ceylon. Perhaps it is not 
generally known in England that our Bengal 
and Madras Governments do not patronise the 
native Christians. They give official appoint- 
ments toMahomedans and Hindoos generally in 



90 Cijriattau laesearcljes 



preference to natives professing Christianity. 
The chief argument for the retention of this 
system is precedent. It was the practice of the 
first settlers. But it has been often observed, 
that what might be proper or necessary in a 
factory, may not be tolerable in a great Empire. 
It is certain that this system confirms prejudice, 
exposes our religion to contempt in the eyes of 
the natives, and precludes every ray of hope of 
the future prevalence of Christianity at the seats 
of government. 



Jaffna-patam, in Ceylon, Sept. 27, 1806% 

e From the Hindoo Temple of Ramisseram, I crossed 
over to Ceylon, keeping close to Adam's bridge. I was 
surprized to find, that all the boatmen were Christians 
of Ceylon. I asked the helmsman what religion the 
English professed who now governed the island. He 
said he could not tell, only that they were not of the 
Portuguese or Dutch religion. I was not so much sur- 
prized at his ignorance afterwards, as I was at the time. 

I have had the pleasure to meet here with Alexander 
Johnstone, Esq.* of the Supreme Court of Judicature, 
who is on the circuit ; a man of large and liberal views, 



* Now Sir Alexander Johnstone, Chief- Justice of Ceylon. 



respecting tlje Ceptonese, 91 

the friend of learning, and of Christianity. He is well 
acquainted with the language of the country, and with 
the history of the island ; and his professional pursuits 
afford him a particular knowledge of its present state ; 
so that his communications are truly valuable. — It will 
be scarcely believed in England, that there are here 
Protestant Churches under the King's government, which 
are without ministers. In the time of Baldjeus, the 
Dutch preacher and hiitorian, there were thirty-two 
Christian Churches in the province of Jaffna alone. At 
this time there is not one Protestant European Minister 
in the whole province. I ought to except Mr. Palm, 
a solitary Missionary, who has been sent out by the 
London Society, and receives some stipend from the 
British government. I visited Mr. Palm, at his residence 
a few miles from the town of Jaffna. He is prosecuting 
the study of the Tamul language ; for that is the lan- 
guage of this part of Ceylon, from its proximity to the 
Tamul continent. Mrs. Palm has made as great pro- 
gress in the language as her husband, and is extremely 
active in the instruction of the native women and chil- 
dren. I asked her if she had no wish to return to Europe 
after living so long among the uncivilized Cingalese. No, 
she said ; she was 6 all the day long happy in the com- 
munication of knowledge/ Mr. Palm has taken pos- 
session of the old Protestant Church of Tilly-Pally. 
By reference to the history, I found it was the church in 
which Baldeeus himself preached (as he himself men- 
tions) to a congregation of two thousand natives ; for a 
view of the Church is given in his work. Most of those 
handsome Churches, of which views are given in the 



92 eijrfettan mesem^eg 

plates of Baldeeus's history, are now in ruins, Even in 
the town and fort of Jaffna, where there is a spacious 
edifice for Divine Worship, and respectahle society of 
English and Dutch inhabitants, no Clergyman has been 
yet appointed. The only Protestant preacher in the 
town of Jaffna is Christian David, a Hindoo Catechist 
sent over by the mission of Tranquebar. His chief mi- 
nistrations are in the Tamul Tongue ; but he sometimes 
preaches in the English Language, which he speaks 
with tolerable propriety : and the Dutch and English 
resort to hear him. I went with the rest to his Church ; 
when he delivered extempore a very excellent Discourse, 
which his present Majesty George the Third would not 
have disdained to hear. And this Hindoo supports the 
interests of the English Church in the province of 
Jaffna. The Dutch Ministers who formerly officiated 
here, have gone to Batavia or to Europe. The whole 
district is now in the hands of the Romish priests from 
the College of Goa ; who perceiving the indifference of 
the English nation to their own religion, have assumed 
quiet and undisturbed possession of the land. And the 
English Government justly preferring the Romish super- 
stition to the worship of the idol Boodha, thinks it right 
to countenance the Catholic Religion in Ceylon. But 
whenever our Church shall direct her attention to the 
promotion of Christianity in the East, I know of no 
place which is more worthy of her labour, than the old 
Protestant Vineyard of Jaffna Patam. The Scriptures 
are already prepared in the Tamul Language. The 
language of the rest of Ceylon is the Cingalese, or 
Ceyhnese/ 



respecting ti>e Ceplonese* ,93 



s Columho, in Ceylon, 10th March, 1808. 

« — 1 find that the South part of the island is in much 

the same state as the north, in regard to Christian 
instruction. There are but two English Clergymen in 
the whole island. * What wonder' (said a Romish priest 
to me) ' that your nation should be so little interested 
about the conversion of the Pagans to Christianity, 
when it does not even give teachers to its own subjects, 
who are already Christians ?' I was not surprised to 
hear that great numbers of the Protestants every year 
go back to idolatry. Being destitute of a Head to take 
cognizance of their state, they apostatise to Boodha, 
as the Israelites turned to Baal and Jshteroth. It is 
perhaps true that the religion of Christ has never been 
so disgraced in any age of the Church, as it has been 
lately, by our official neglect of the Protestant Church 
in Ceylon. 

e Tpassed the day at Mount Lavinia, the country resi- 
dence of General Maitland, the Governor of Ceylon ; and 
had some conversation with his Excellency on the religi- 
ous state of the country. He desired I wo^ild commit to 
writing and leave with him, a memorandum of inquiries 
which I wished should be made on subjects relating to the 
former prevalence of the Protestant Religion in the 
island, and the means of reviving and establishing it once 
more, JJis Excellency expressed his conviction that 



94 eijrfettan mmvtW 



some Ecclesiastical Establishment ought to be given to 
Ceylon ; as had been given to other Colonies of His 
Majesty in America and the West Indies. He asked 
what was the cause of the delay in giving an Ecclesiasti- 
cal Establishment to the Continent of India. . I told him 
I supposed the chief cause was the mixed government of 
our Indian Empire. It was said to be a question at home, 
who ought to originate it. Had there been ho revolution 
in Europe to distract the attention of the nation, and had 
Mr. Pitt lived, many things of a grand and arduous 
character would have been done which are yet left un- 
done. — There are now three missionaries of the London 
Society established in three different parts of the island. 
It gave me great pleasure to find that General Maitland* 
and the senior Chaplain at Columbo, the Honourable 
Mr. Tvvisleton, had afforded their patronage in the most 
liberal manner to these useful teachers. Government 
has allowed to each of them an annual stipend. — In re- 
turning from the country I passed through the^ groves of 
Cinnamon, which extend nearly a mile in length. Cey- 
lon is believed by some of the Easterns, both Muhome- 
dans and Hindoos, to have been the residence of f ie first 
man (for the Hindoos have a First Man, and a Garden of 
Eden, as well as the Christians) : because it abounds in;. 
* Trees pleasant to the eyes, and good for food and is^ 
famous for its rare metals and precious stones. c There 
is gold, bdellium, and the onyx-stone. 5 The rocky ridge 
which connects this happy island with the main land, is. 
called Adam's Bridge ; the lofty mountain in the middle 
of the island every where visible, is called Adam's Peak : 
and there is a sepulchre of immense length, which they 



respecting tlje Cegtonese, 95 



eall Abel's Tomb. All these names were given many 
ages before the introduction of Christianity from Europe ; 
—The Cinnamon trees love a sandy soil. The surface of 
the ground appeared to be entirely sand. I thought it 
wonderful that the most valuable of all trees should grow 
in luxuriance in such an arid soil without human culture. 
I compared them in my mind to the Ceylon Christians in 
their present state, who are left to flourish by themselves 
under the blessing of heaven, without those external and 
rational aids which have been divinely appointed to nourish 
the Church of Christ.' 



' Columbo, llth March, 1808. 

( I have conversed with intelligent persons on the 
means of translating the Scriptures into the Cingalese 
Language. The whole of the New Testament has been 
translated, but only three books of the Old Testament. 
But even this portion has been translated almost in vain : 
for there is no supply of books for the use of the people. 
I reflected with astonishment on the fact, that there are 
by computation 500,000 natives in Ceylon professing 
Christianity, and that there should not be one complete 
copy of the Holy Scriptures in the vernacular tongue, 
Samuel Tolfry, Esq. head of a civil department in Colum- 
bo, is a good Cingalese scholar, and is now engaged in 
compiling a Cingalese dictionary. I proposed to him to 
undertake the completion of the Cingalese Version ; which 
is easily practicable, as there are many learned Cingalese 



96 Christian mesearrijes 



Christians in Columbo. He professed himself ready to 
engage in the work, provided he should receive the sanc- 
tion of the government. I mentioned to him what had 
passed in my conversation with General Maitland, and 
his Excellency's favourable sentiments on the subject ; 
and added that a correspondence would be immediately 
commenced with him from Calcutta, concerning the 
work, and funds apportioned for the execution of it. — 
Alexander Johnstone, Esq. who is now in Columbo, has 
furnished me with his sentiments on the best means of 
reviving and maintaining the Protestant interest in Cey- 
lon. Did his professional avocations permit, Mr. 
Johnstone is himself the fit person to superintend the 
translation and printing of the Scriptures. It is a proof 
of the interest which this gentleman takes in the progress 
of Christian knowledge, that he has caused Bishop Por- 
teus's Evidences of Christianity to be translated into the 
Cingalese tongue, for distribution among the natives/ 



THE MALAYS. 

A new empire has been added to Great 
Britain in the East, which may be called her 
Malay Empire. The extensive dominion of the 
Dutch in the Indian Ocean, is devolving upon 
the English; and it may be expected that Bri- 
tain will, soon be mistress of the whole of the. 
Malayan Archipelago, But as we increase 



respecting fl)e iffialaps* 97 

our territories, we increase our obligations. Our 
duties to our Hindoo Empire have been long 
enough the subject of discussion : let us now 
turn our attention to the obligations which we 
owe to our Malay Empire. We are now about 
to take possession of islands, peopled by numbers 
of Protestant Christians. For in every island 
where the Dutch established their government, 
they endeavoured to convert the natives to 
Christianity, and they were successful. Those 
amongst us who would recommend that the 
evangelization of barbarous nations should be 
deferred, " till a more convenient season," will 
have no opportunity of offering the advice in 
regard to some of the islands : for, behold, the 
natives are Christians already. They profess 
the religion of the Bible. Let it be our endea- 
vour then to do more justice to these our new 
Protestant subjects than we have done to the 
Christians of Ceylon. We have less excuse in 
the present instance, for the Malay Scriptures 
are already translated to our hands. What a 
noble field here opens to the view of the " Society 
" for promoting Christian Knowledge," and of 
the Bible Society ! Here there is ample room 
for a praise-worthy emulation, and for the ut- 
most exercise of their benevolent exertions. One 

H 



S8 eijusttau Besearcijes 



hundred thousand Malay Bibles will not suffice 
to supply the Malay Christians. 

The Sacred Scriptures were translated by the 
Dutch into the Eastern Malay;* for that is 
the general language of their extensive domini- 
ons in the Indian Sea. But the Eastern Malay 
is different from the Western Malay, or that of 
Sumatra. In the College of Fort- William, 
Thomas Jarre % Esq. of the Honourable Com- 
pany's Civil Service, was preparing a version of 
the Scriptures in the Western Malay ; for which 
undertaking he was well qualified, having resid- 
ed twelve years in Sumatra. When the progress 
of the Biblical translations was interrupted in 
the College, Mr. Jarrett prosecuted the work, 
after his return to Madras. He has had, as an 
assistant in the design, a learned Malay of the 
rank of llajah in his own country, who came 
from Sumatra for the purpose. Mr. Jarrett has 
also made considerable progress in compiling a 
copious Malay Dictionary, which he commenc- 
ed before he left the island. His labour, it is 
to be hoped, will not be lost to the public ; for 



* A complete version of the Malay Bible was published in the 
Arabic character at Batavia, in 5 vols. 8vo. in 1758; under the 
direction of Jacob Mossel, Governor-General of the Dutch pos- 
sessions in the Eastlndies. 



respecting tye #tabg& 



the Malay language is daily increasing in its 
importance to the British nation. 

Prince of Wales's Island, or, as it is called by 
the natives, Penang, or Pulo Penang, that is, 
the Island Penang, is the capital of our Malay 
territories, and is the proper place for the culti- 
vation of the Malay language, being situated close 
to the main land of Malacca. As there is a Col- 
lege in Bengal for instructing the English in the 
languages of the continent of Hindostan, it is 
equally expedient that there should be an Insti- 
tution in Penang for the cultivationof the Malay 
tongue, and of the various dialects of our insular 
possessions. The Dutch attended to this object 
in the very infancy of their empire. Besides 
it is probable that Penang will, in the progress 
of Eastern civilization, become the great empo- 
rium of Asiatic Commerce. Its sudden eleva- 
tion, is a prognostic of its future celebrity. It is 
situated on what may be called, " the high way, 15 
in which ships sail from either hemisphere; and 
is the very centre of British navigation in the 
East. The author resided on this island for 
about a month, and was greatly surprised at 
the variety of languages which are spoken, and 
at the different races of men who present 
themselves to view in this infant settlement, 
The merchants arj chiefly of the Malay, and 

H 2 



ioo c&rtsttan iReaeatrijes 



Indo-Chinese nations. John Shaw, Esq. was 
prosecuting the study of the Eastern Malay 
Language, when the Author visited the island, 
and has since published a considerable portion 
of a Malay Grammar. 

The author who chiefly claims our notice in 
regard to the Malay regions, is J. C. Leyden, 
M. D. Professor of Hindostanee in the College 
of Fort- William. To him the learned world is 
indebted for " a Dissertation on the Languages, 
"and Literature of the Indo-Chinese nations," 
just published in the Asiatic Researches, in which 
be illuminates a very dark subject, and opens 
a new view to Great Britain of her insular pos- 
sessions in Asia. Dr. Ley den takes the lead 
in this most useful science, in the East, being 
possessed of very rare talents for general Philo- 
logy, which he has applied almost suddenly, and 
with admirable effect, to the Oriental Languages. 
If this erudite scholar should prosecute his re- 
searches for some years to come, with equal assi- 
duity and success, he will promote, in the most 
effectual manner, the general civilization of the 
East, by opening the way for the future exer- 
tions of Christian teachers, and preparing them 
for the study of languages, the names of which 
are not yet known in Europe. 

Penang, and the neighbouring settlement of 



xmpttttns ftp iftalaps* 101 

Malacca, are most favourable stations for the 
study of the various dialects of the Malay and 
Chinese Languages ; and for pouring forth from 
the press useful works for the civilization of 
maritime and Austral Asia. Every week, boats 
of different nations are ready to carry off every 
thing that is printed to their respective regions. 
The Author found here a general spirit of in- 
quiry, a communicative disposition, and an un- 
usual thirst for knowledge; for the civilities of 
commerce have a tendency to weaken prejudice 
and superstition among barbarous tribes. 

Although the Dutch introduced Christianity 
on every island where they established a Govern- 
ment, yet the greater part of the Malay islands 
are involved in darkness. The natives are of 
three general casts, Pagans, Mahomedans, and 
Chinese. The Mahomedans chiefly inhabit the 
shores, and the Pagans the interior parts of the 
islands. The barbarism of the interior nations 
in Sumatra, Borneo, and other islands, almost 
exceeds belief. Marsden, in his history of 
Sumatra, had informed us that it was usual with 
the natives of the interior, called the Batta 
tribes, to kill and eat their criminals, and pri- 
soners of war* but the researches of Dr. Leyden 
have led to the discovery that they sometimes 
sacrifice their own relations. " They themselves 



102 eijttsttan laeseatcijes 



" declare/' (says he,) " that they frequently eat 
" their own relations when aged and infirm : and 
i( that not so much to gratify their appetite, as 
" to perform a pious ceremony. Thus, when a 
" man becomes infirm and weary of the world, 
" he is said to invite his own children to eat him 
" in the season when salt and limes are cheapest. 
" He then ascends a tree, round which his friends 
" and offspring assemble, and as they shake the 
" tree, join in a funeral dirge, the import of which 
61 is, 6 The season is come, the fruit is ripe, and it 
" must descend. The victim descends, and those 
" that are nearest and dearest to him deprive him 
<£ of life and devour his remains in a solemn 
" banquet."* 

These cannibals inhabit the interior of the 
island of Sumatra, on the shore of which is the 
English settlement, Bencoolen, or Fort-Marlbo- 
rough, We have been settled there for a long 
period, and trade with the inhabitants for their 
spices. In return for the pepper which the ua- 
tives give us, it would well becomeour charac- 
ter as a Christian nation, were we now at 
length, to offer them the New Testament. 

Another description of barbarians in the 
Eastern Isles, are the Haraforas, called by the 



* Asiatic Researches, Vol. X, p. 203 , 



respecting tije jftalaps, 103 

Dutch, the Alfoe?*s. They are to be found in 
almost all the larger islands. " In their man- 
" ners," says Dr. Leyden, " the most singular 
" feature is the necessity imposed on every per- 
" son of, sometime in his life, imbruing 
" his hands in human blood : and in general, 
M among all their tribes, no person is per 
" mitted to marry, 'till he can shew the 
" skull of a man whom he has slaughtered. 
" They eat the flesh of their enemies like the 
" Battas, and drink out of their skulls ; and the 
" ornaments of their houses are human skulls 
" and teeth/'f When the author was at Pulo- 
Penang, he saw a Chief of the Malay tribe 
who had a staff, on the head of which was a 
bushy lock of human hair ; which he said he had 
cut from the head of his enemy, when he lay 
dead at his feet. 

The foregoing circumstances have been de- 
tailed to shew what Paganism is in its natural 
state, and to awaken some desire of civilizing 
a people, who are now so accessible to us. Cer- 
tain Philosophers of the school of Voltaire and 
Gibbon, have been extravagant in their eulc- 
gium of man in a state of nature, or in some 
other state devoid of Christianity.; and it is 



f Ibid, p, 217s 



104 Christian l&zmvt\)Z8 

to be lamented that some Christian writers have 
tried to draw the same picture. But Paganism 
in its best estate, is well described by one line 
of the Poet : 

Monstrum, horrendum, informe, ingens cui LUMEN 
ademptum. Virg. 

No quarter of the globe promises to be more 
auspicious to Christian Missions than the Ma- 
layan Archipelago. In regard to the probable 
success of our endeavours, the Dutch have al- 
ready shewn what is practicable. The native^ 
are of different casts, and are a divided people. 
The communication is easy from island to island; 
our own ships are continually plying on their 
shores. The China fleet pass through twice, or 
oftener, every year ; and with most of the is- 
lands we have intercourse by what is called in 
India, the country trade. And now there will 
be, of course, an English government established 
in each of the conquered islands in lieu of the 
Dutch. 

The Mahomedans found it easy to translate 
the Koran into the languages of Java, and of 
the Celebes ; but the Sacred Scriptures are not 
yet translated into either of these languages. 
The proper language of Java is different from 
the Malay of the city of Batavia, The lan- 



respecting tye ffi&qm ios 

guage of the Celebes is called the Bugis, or 
Bougese* The natives of Celebes are distin- 
guished for their vigour of mind and strength 
of body ; and are acknowledged to be the first 
of the Orang Timor, or Eastern men. Litera- 
ture was formerly cultivated among them. Dr. 
Leyden enumerates fifty-three different volumes. 
" Their songs," says he, " and romances, are 
" famous among all the islands of the East." 
Their language extends to other islands, for 
they formerly carried their conquests beyond 
the Moluccas. The man who shall first trans- 
late the Bible into the language of the Celebes, 
will probably be read by as many islanders as 
have read the translation of Wickliffe. Let us 
consider how long these nations have waited 
for Christian instruction, and contemplate the 
words of the prophecy, " The isles shall wait 
" for HIS Law."-Is. xliii. 4. 

The facilities for civilizing the Malayan isles 
are certainly very great; and these facilities 
are our strongest encouragement to make the 
attempt. Both in our translation of the Scrip- 



* Lord Minto notices in his Speech to the College of Fort 
William, that Thos. Raffles, Esq. Secretary to the Government 
in Prince of Wales's Island, is employed in compiling a code of 
Malay laws, in the Malay and Bougese Languages. 



106 Christian Eesearcfces 

tures and in missions to the heathen, we should 
avoid as much as possible what may be called 
enterprise. Let us follow the path that is easy 
and secure, and make use of those means which 
are already afforded to us by Providence. Thus 
the most valuable and important translation of 
the Scriptures will be that for which a people 
are already prepared, such as the Malayalim, 
the Cingalese, and Malay. And the most 
judiciously planned Missions will be those 
where there is a prospect of personal security 
to the teachers ; and (judging from human pro- 
bability) the greatest facilities for the conversion 
of the people. 



THE SYRIAN CHRISTIANS IN INDIA 

The Syrian Christians inhabit the interior of 
Travancore and Malabar, in the South of India 
and have been settled there from the early ages 
of Christianity. The first notices of this an- 
cient people in recent times are to be founo! in 
the Portuguese histories. When Vasco de Gama 
arrived at Cochin on the coast of Malabar, in 
the year 1503, he saw the sceptre of the Chris* 



respecting t!>e &prtan& 107 

tianKing; for the Syrian Christians had for- 
merly regal power in Malay- Ala.* The name 
or title of their last King was Beliarte ; and he 
dying without issue, the dominion devolved on 
the King of Cochin and Diamper. 

When the Portuguese arrived, they were 
agreeably surprised to find upwards of a hun- 
dred Christian Churches on the coast of Mala- 
bar. But when they became acquainted with 
the purity and simplicity of their worship, 
they were offended. " These Churches," said 
the Portuguese, " belong to the Pope."— 
" Who is the Pope," said the natives, " we 
never heard of him." The European priests 
were yet more alarmed, when they found that 
these Hindoo Christians maintained the order 
and discipline of a regular Church under 
Episcopal Jurisdiction- and that, for 1300 
years past, they had enjoyed a succession of 
Bishops appointed by the Patriarch of Antioch. 
" We," said they, " are of the true faith, what- 



* Malay-ala is the proper name for the whole country of 
Travancore and Malabar, comprehending the territory between 
the mountains and the sea, from Cape Cormorin to Cape Illi 
or Dilly. The language of these extensive regions is called 
Malay- alira, and sometimes Malabar. We shall use the word 
Malabar as>eing of easier pronunciation. 



108 ctwrtrtfim mmxfyzz 

t( ever you from the West may be ; for we come 
"from the place where the followers of Christ 
" were first called Christians." 

When the power of the Portuguese became 
sufficient for their purpose, they invaded these 
tranquil Churches, seized some of the Clergy, and 
devoted them to the death of heretics. Then 
the inhabitants heard for the first time that 
there was a place called the Inquisition ; and that 
its fires had been lately lighted at Goa, near their 
own land. But the Portuguese, rinding that the 
people were resolute in defending their ancient 
faith, began to try more conciliatory measures. 
They seized the Syrian Bishop, Mar Joseph, and 
sent him prisoner to Lisbon, and then convened 
a Synod at one of the Syrian Churches called 
Diamper, near Cochin, at which the Romish 
Archbishop Menezes presided. At this compul- 
sory Synod, 150 of the Syrian Clergy appeared. 
They were accused of the following practices 
and opinions, " That they had married wives; that 
kC they owned but two Sacraments, Baptism and 
" the Lord's Supper; that they neither invoked 
" Saints, nor worshipped Images, nor believed 
" in Purgatory : and that they had no other 
" orders or names of dignity in the Church, 
" than Bishop, Priest, and Deacon * These 
tenets they were called on to abjure, or to suffer 



suspension from all Church benefices, u - 
also decreed that all the Syrian books on L - 
siastical subjects that could be found, should b 
burned; <f in order," said the Inquisitors, « that 
no pretended apostolical monuments may re- 
main." 

The Churches on the sea-coast were thus 
compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of 
the Pope : but they refused to pray in Latin, and 
insisted on retaining their own language and 
Liturgy. This point they said they would only 
give up with their lives. The Pope compro- 
mised with them : Menezes purged their Litur- 
gy of its errors : and they retain their Syriac 
Language, and have a Syriac College unto this 
day. These are called the Syro-Roman Churches, 
and are principally situated on the sea-coast. 

The Churches in the interior would not yield 
to Rome. After a show of submission for a little 
while, they proclaimed eternal war against the 
Inquisition; they hid their books, fled to the 
mountains, and sought the protection of the 
Native Princes, who had always been proud of 
their alliance. 

Two centuries had elapsed without any par- 
ticular information concerning the Syrian Chris- 
tians in Malay-ala. It was doubted by many 
Whether they existed at all ; but if they did 



1 1 o Christian Hesearcijes 

exist, it was thought probable that they must 
possess some interesting documents of Christian 
antiquity. The Author conceived the design 
of visiting them, if practicable, in his tour 
through Hindostan. He presented a short 
memoir on the subject, in 1805, to Marquis 
Wellesley, then Governor-General of India ; 
who was pleased to give orders that every faci- 
lity should be afforded to him in the prosecution 
of his inquiries. About a year after that Noble- 
man had left India, the Author proceeded on 
his Tour* It was necessary that he should visit 
first the Court of the Rajah of Travancorc, in 
whose dominions the Syrian Christians resided, 
that he might obtain permission to pass to their 
country. The two chief objects which he 
proposed to himself in exploring the state of 
this ancient people, were these : First, to inves- 
tigate their literature and history, and to collect 
Biblical manuscripts. Secondly, if he should 
find them to be an intelligent people, and well 
acquainted with the Syriac Scriptures, to endea- 
vour to make them instruments of illuminating 
the Southern part of India, by engaging them 
in translating their Scriptures into the Native 
Languages. He had reason to believe that this 
had not yet been done; and he was prepared 
not to wonder at the delay, when he reflected 



respecting tlje g>j)riau& 1 2 j 

how long it was before his own countrymen 
began to think it their duty to make versions of 
the Scriptures, for the use of other nations. 



6 Palace of Tratancore, \dth Oct, 1806. 
6 I have now been a week at the Palace of Trivan- 
duram, where the Rajah resides. A letter of introduction 
from Lieut.-Colonel Macaulay, the British Resident at 
Travancore, procured me a proper reception. At my 
first audience His Highness was very inquisitive as to 
the objects of my journey. As I had servants witli me 
of different casts and languages, it was very easy for 
the Brahmins to discover every particular they might 
wish to know, in regard to my profession, pursuits, and 
manner of life. When I told the Rajah that the Syrian 
Christians were supposed to be of the same religion with 
the English, he said he thought that could not be the 
case, else he must have heard it before ; if, however, it 
was so, he considered my desire to visit them as being 
very reasonable. I assured His Highness that their 
Shorter and ours was the same ; and shewed him a 
Syriac New Testament which I had at hand. The book 
being bound and gilt after the European manner, the 
Rajah shook his head, and said he was sure there was 
not a native in his dominions who could read that book. 
I observed that this would be proved in a few days. 
TheDewan (or Prime Minister) thought the character 
omething like what he had seen sometimes in the 



112 Christian iae&arc&es 



houses of the Sooriani. The Rajah said he would afford 
me every facility for my journey in his power. He put 
an emerald ring on my finger, as a mark of his friend 
ship, and to secure me respect in passing through his 
country; and he directed his Dewan to send proper 
~ersons with me as guides. 

c I requested that the Rajah would be pleased to pre- 
sent a Catalogue of all the Hindoo Manuscripts in the 
Temples of Travancore to the College of Fort- William 
in Bengal. The Brahmins were very averse to this ; but 
when I shewed the Rajah the catalogues of the books 
in the Temples of Tanjore, given by the Rajah of Tan- 
jore, and of those of the Temple of Ramisseram, given 
me by order of the Rannie (or Queen) of Ramnad, 
he desired it might be done : and orders have been sent 
to the Hindoo College of f richoor for that purpose.'* 



< Chinganoor ; a Church of the Syrian Christians, 
Nov.lQth, 1806. 

.< From the palace of Travancore I proceeded to 
Mavely-car, and thence to the hills at the bottom of the 
high Ghauts which divide the Carnatic from Malayala. 
The face of the country in general, in the vicinity of the 



* These three Catalogues, together with that of the Rajah 
of Cochin, which the Author procured afterwards, are now 
deposited in the Coll-ge of Fort- William, and probably contain 
all the Hindoo literature of the South of India. 



respecting tlje B$vmm. m 

mountains, exhibits a varied scene of hill and dale, and 
winding streams. These streams fall from the moun- 
tains and preserve the vailies in perpetual verdure. The 
woods produce pepper, cardamoms, and cassia, or common 
cinnamon ; also frankincense and other aromatic gums. 
What adds much to the grandeur of the scenery in 
this country is, that the adjacent mountains of Travan- 
core are not barren, but are covered with forests of teak 
wood (the Indian oak,) producing, it is said, the largest 
timber in the world. 

( The first view of the Christian Churches in this 
sequestered region of Hindostah, connected with the 
idea of their tranquil duration for so many ages, cannot 
fail to excite pleasing emotions in the mind of the 
beholder. The form of the oldest buildings is not unlike 
that of some of the old Parish Churches in England ; 
the style of building in both being of Saracenic origin. 
They have sloping roofs, pointed arch windows and 
buttresses supporting the walls. The beams of the roof 
being exposed to view are ornamented ; and the ceiling 
of the choir and altar is circular and fretted. In the 
Cathedral Churches, the shrines of the deceased bishops 
are placed on each side of the altar. Most of the 
Churches are built of a reddish stone,* squared and 



* This stone possesses a singular property. At the quarry 
it is so soft, that it may be pared with a knife, and modelled in 
any fashion with ease ; but when exposed to the air, it indurates 
like adamant. Dr. Francis Buchanan of Bengal wished me to 
bring home a specimen of this stone, which he had not seen in 
any of the collections in Britain. 

X 



114 Cftriatfan Besearcijes 



polished at the quarry; and are of durable construction. 
The bells of the Churches are cast in the founderies of 
the country : some of them are of large dimensions, 
and have inscriptions in Syriac and Malay-alim. In 
approaching a town in the evening, I once heard the 
sound of the bells among the hills ; a circumstance which 
made me forget for a moment that I was in Hindostan, 
and reminded me of another country. 

6 The first Syrian Church which I saw was at Mavely- 
car: but the Syrians here are in the vicinity of the 
Romish Christians ; and are not so simple in their man- 
ners as those nearer the mountains. They had been 
often visited by Romish emissaries in former times: 
and they at first suspected that I belonged to that com- 
munion. They had heard of the English, but strangely 
supposed that they belonged to the Church of the Pope 
in the West. They had been so little accustomed to 
see a friend, that they could not believe that I was come 
with any friendly purpose. Added to this, I had some 
discussions with a most intelligent priest, in regard to 
the original language of the Four Gospels, which he 
maintained to be Syriac; and they suspected from the 
complexion of my argument, that I wished to weaken 
the evidences for their antiquity * Soon, however, the 



* " You concede," said the Syrian, " that our Saviour spoke 
In our language $ how do you know it r" From Syriac expres- 
sions in the Greek Gospels. It appears that he spoke Syriac 
when he walked by the way (Ephphatha), and when he sat in 
the house (Talitha Cumi), and when he was upon the cross 
(Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani). The Syrians were pleased when 



respecting tlje g^rtaits. i 1 5 

gloom and suspicion subsided ; they gave me the right 
hand of fellowship, in the primitive manner ; and one of 

they heard that we had got their language in our English books. 
The priest observed that these last were not the exact words, 
but ' Ail, Ail, lamono sabachthani.' I answered that the 
Word must have been very like Eli, for one said ' He calleth 
Elias: " True," said he, " but yet it was more likely to be Ail, 
Ail (pronounced II or Eel) for Mil or Hila is Syriac for 
Vinegar; and one thought he wanted Vinegar, and filled 
immediately a sponge with it. But our Saviour did not want 
the medicated drink as they supposed."—" But," added he, " if 
the parables and discourses of our Lord were in Syriac, and the 
people of Jerusalem commonly used it, is it not marvellous 
that his Disciples did not record his parables in the Syriac Lan- 
guage j and that they should have recourse to the Greek V I 
observed that the Gospel was for the world, and the Greek was 
then the universal language, and therefore Providence selected 
it. " It is very probable," said he, f* that the Gospels were 
translated immediately afterwards into Greek, as into other 
languages; but surely there must have been a Syriac Original, 
The poor people in Jerusalem could not read Greek. Had they 
no record in their hands, of Christ's parables which they had 
heard, and of his sublime discourses recorded by St. John, after 
his ascension ?" I acknowledged that it was believed by some 
of the learned that the Gospel of St. Matthew was written 
originally in Syriac. " So you admit St. Matthew ? You may 
<f as well admit St. John. Or was one gospel enough for the 
<e inhabitants of Jerusalem ?" I contended that, there were 
many Greek and Roman words in their own Syriac Gospels, 
€t True," said hej " Roman words for Roman things." Thev 
wished however to see some of these words. The discussion 
afterwards, particularly in reference to the Gospel of St. Luke, 
was more in my favour. 

I 2 



1 1 6 eiyxMtm Eeseatcfjes 



their number was deputed to accompany me to the 
Churches in the interior. 

6 When we were approaching the Church of Chin- 
ganoor, we met one of the Cassanars, or Syrian Clergy. 
He was dressed in a white loose vestment with a cap of 
red silk hanging down behind. Being informed who he 
was,, I said to him in the Syriac Language, 6 Peace be 
unto you/ He was surprized at the salutation, but 
immediately answered, c The God of peace be with you/ 
He accosted the Rajah's servants in the language of the 
country to know who I was ; and immediately returned 
to the village to announce our approach. When we 
arrived I was received at the door of the Church by three 
Kasheeshas that is, Presbyters, or Priests, who were 
habited in like manner, in white vestments. Their names 
were Jesu, Zecharias, and Urias, which they wrote down 
in my Journal, each of them adding to his name the 
title of Kasheesha. There were also present two Shum- 
shanas, or Deacons. The elder Priest was a very 
intelligent man, of reverend appearance, having a long 
white beard, and of an affable and engaging deport- 
ment. The three principal Christians, or lay elders, 
belonging to the Church, were named Abraham, Thoma, 
and Alexandres. After some conversation with my 
attendants they received me with confidence and affec- 
tion ; and the people of the neighbouring villages came 
round, women as well as men. The sight of the women 
assured me that I was once more (after a long absence 
from England) in a Christian country. For the Hindoo 
women, and the Mahomedan women, and in short, all 

women who are not Christians, are accounted by the men 



vmputm® tf)e i»pfeu0, i \ 7 



an inferior race : and, in general, are confined to the 
house for life, like irrational creatures. In every coun- 
tenance now before me I thought I could discover the 
intelligence of Christianity. But at the same time, I 
perceived, all around, symptoms of poverty and political 
depression. In the Churches, and in the people, there 
was the air of fallen greatness. I said to the senior 
Priest, < You appear to me like a people who have 
known better days.' ' It is even so/ said he. 6 We are 
in a degenerate state compared with our forefathers/ 
He noticed, that there were two causes of their present 
decay. € About 300 years ago, an enemy came from the 
west, bearing the name of Christ, but armed with the 
inquisition : and compelled us to seek the protection of 
the native Princes. And the native Princes have kept 
us in a state of depression ever since. They indeed 
recognize our ancient personal privileges, for we rank in 
general next to the Nairs, the nobility of the country; 
but they have encroached by degrees on our property, 
till we have been reduced to the humble state in which 
you find us. The glory of our Church has passed away; 
but we hope your nation will revive it again/ I observed 
that e the glory of a Church could never die, if it 
preserved the Bible/ e We have preserved the Bible/ 
said he, c the Hindoo Princes never touched our liberty 
of conscience. We were formerly on a footing with 
them in political power; and they respect our religion. 
We have also converts from time to time ; but in this 
Christian duty we are not so active as we once were; 
besides, it is not so creditable now to become Christian, 
in our low estate/ He then pointed out to me a Nam* 



ns Christian Eesearcljes 



boory Brahmin, (that is, a Brahmin of the highest cast) 
who had lately become a Christian, and assumed the 
white vestment of a Syrian Priest. < The learning too 
of the Bible/ he added, ( is in a low state amongst us. 
Our copies are few in number; and that number is 
diminishing instead of increasing ; and the writing out a 
whole copy of Sacred Scriptures is a great labour, where 
there is no profit and little piety.' I then produced a 
printed copy of the Syriac New Testament. There was 
not one of them who had ever seen a printed copy before. 
They admired it much; and every Priest, as it came 
into his hands, began to read a portion, which he did 
fluently, while the women came round to hear. I asked 
the old Priest whether I should send them some copies 
from Europe. £ They would be worth their weight in 
silver/ said he. He asked me whether the Old Testa- 
ment was printed in Syriac as well as the New. I told 
him it was, but I had not a copy. They professed an 
earnest desire to obtain some copies of the whole Syriac 
Bible; and asked whether it would be practicable to 
pbtain one copy for" every church. $ I must confess to 
you/ said Zecharias, ' that we have very few copies of 
the Prophetical Scriptures in the Church. Our Churcrj 
languishes for want of the Scriptures/ But he added ? 
* the language that is most in use among the people i$ 
the Malayalim, (or Malabar,) the vernacular language of 
the country. The Syriac is now pnly the learned lan- 
guage, and the language of the Church : but we gene- 
lally expound the Scriptures to the people in the verna- 
pular tongue/ 

f I then entered on the subject of the translation of thp 



mptitms tfje ifrtrag, i j 9 

Scriptures. He said e a version could be made with 
critical accuracy; for there were many of the Syrian 
Clergy who were perfect masters of both languages, 
having spoken them from their infancy/ 6 But/ said he, 
6 our Bishop will rejoice to see you, and to discourse 
with you on this and other subjects/ I told them that 
if a translation could be prepared, I should be able to 
get it printed, and to distribute copies among their fifty- 
five Churches at a small price, 6 That indeed would 
give joy/ said old Abraham. There was here a murmur 
of satisfaction among the people. 5 If I understand you 
right/ saidl, e the greatest blessing the English Church 
. can bestow upon you, is the Bible/ s It is so/ said he. 
c And what is the next greatest/ said I. < Some freedom 
and personal consequence as a people/ By which 
he meant political liberty. ( We are here in bondage, 
like Israel in Egypt/ I observed that the English 
nation would doubtless recognize a nation of fellow 
Christians ; and would be happy to interest itself in 
their behalf, as far as our political relation with the 
Prince of the country would permit. They wished to 
know what were the principles of the English Govern- 
ment, civil and religious. I answered that our Govern- 
ment might be said to be founded generally on the 
principles of the Bible. c Ah/ said old Zecharias, 6 that 
must be a glorious Government which is founded on the 
principles of the Bible/ The Priests then desired I 
would give them some account of the History of the 
English nation, and of our secession from their enemy 
the Church of Rome. And in return, I requested they 
would give me some account of their History.— My 



120 



Christian Ee£earc!)es 



communications with the Syrians are rendered very easy, 
by means of an Interpreter whom I brought with me 
all the way from the Tranjore country. He is a Hin- 
doo by descent, but is an intelligent Christian, and was 
a pupil and catechist of the late Mr. Swartz. The 
Rev. Mr. KolhofF recommended him to me. He for- 
merly lived in Travancore, and is well acquainted with 
the vernacular tongue. He also reads and writes En- 
glish pretty well, and is as much interested in favour of 
the Syrian Christians as I myself. Besides Mr. Swartz's 
catechist, there are two natives of Tra van core here, who 
speak the Hindostanee Language, which is familiar 
to me. My knowledge of the Syriac is sufficient to refer 
to texts of Scripture ; but I do not well understand the 
pronunciation of the Syrians. I hope to be better ac- 
quainted with their language before I leave the coun- 
try/ 



6 Ranniel, a Syrian Church, Nov. 12th, 1S06. 

6 This Church is built upon a rocky hill on the banks of 
the river ; and is the most remote of all the Churches in 
this quarter. The two Kasheeshas here are Lucas and 
Mattai (Luke and Matthew.) The chief Lay members 
are Abraham, Georgius, Thoma, and Philippus. Some 
of the Priests accompany me from Church to Church. 
I have now visited eight Churches, and scarcely believe 
that I am in the land of the Hindoos j only that I now 



121 



and then see a Hindoo temple on the banks of the river. 
I observed that the bells of most of the Churches are 
within the building, and not in a tower. The reason 
they said was this. When a Hindoo temple happens to 
be near a church, the Hindoos do not like the bell to 
sound loud, for they say it frightens their God.— I per- 
ceive that the Syrian Christians assimilate much to the 
Hindoos in the practice of frequent ablutions for health, 
and cleanliness, and in the use of vegetables and light 
food. 

6 I attended divine service on the Sunday. Their Li- 
turgy is that which was formerly used in the Churches of 
the Patriarch of Antioch. During the prayers, there 
were intervals of silence : the priests praying in a low 
voice and every man praying for himself. These silent 
intervals add much to the solemnity and appearance of 
devotion. They use incense in the Churches, it grows 
in the woods around them ; and contributes much, they 
say, to health, and to the warmth and comfort of the 
Church during the cold and rainy season of the year. At 
the conclusion of the service, a ceremony takes place 
which pleased me much. The Priest, (or Bishop, if he 
be present) comes forward, and all the people pass by him 
as they go out, receiving his benediction individually. 
If any man has been guilty of any immorality, he does not 
receive the blessing; and this, in their primitive and 
patriarchal state, is accounted a severe punishment. 
Instruction by preaching is little in use among them now. 
Many of the old men lamented the decay of piety, and 
religious knowledge 3 and spoke with pleasure of the 
record of ancient times. — They have some ceremonies 



Cjjrtflttan Eeseattljes 



nearly allied to those of the Greek Church. Here, as in 
all Churches in a state of decline, there is too much 
formality in the worship. But they have the Bible and a 
scriptural Liturgy; and these will save a Church in the 
worst of times. These may preserve the spark and life 
of religion, though the flame be out. And as there were 
but few copies of the Bible among the Syrians, (for every 
copy was transcribed with the pen) it is highly probable 
that, if they had not enjoyed the advantage of the daily 
prayers, and daily portions of Scripture in their Liturgy, 
there would have been in the revolution of ages, no 
vestige of Christianity left among them.* 



* In a nation like ours, overflowing with knowledge, men 
are not always in circumstances to perceive the value of a scrip- 
tural Liturgy. When Christians are well taught, they think 
they want something better. But the young and the ignorant, 
who form a great proportion of the community, are edified by 
a little plain scriptural instruction frequently repeated. A small 
Church or Sect may do without a form for a while. But a 
national Liturgy is that which preserves a relic of the true faith 
among the people in a large empire, when the Priests leave 
their articles and their confessions of faith. Woe to the 
declining Church which hath no scriptural Liturgy ! For when 
the Bible is gone, or when it ceases to be read to the people, what 
is there left ? Witness the Presbyterians in the West of England, 
and some other sects, who are said to have become Arians and 
Socinians to a man. Eight chapters of holy Scripture, on an. 
average, including the Psalms, are read to the people on every 
sabbath day, in the Church of England. Four chapters are 
recommended to be read on every Sabbath day by the u Direc- 
tory for public Worship" in the Church of Scotland, viz, " One 



respecting tlje feprtan*, 125 

€ The doctrines of the Syrian Christians are few in 
number, but pure, and agree in essential points with those 
pf the Church of England : so that, although the body of 



" chapter of each Testament at every meeting;' But, in con- 
sequence of its not being positively ordained, (as in the Church 
of England) not one chapter is now regularly read. When, 
therefore, a minister of the Kirk chuses to deviate from the 
evangelical doctrines of the confession of faith, (which 
will sometimes happen) what, we would ask, is there left for 
the people ?* 

The Puritans of a former age in England, did not live long 
enough to see the use of an evangelical Formulary. By them, 
the experiment of a pure church devoid of form, was made 
under the most favourable circumstances. I know not what 
was wanting of human Snd local circumstance, according to 
their own principles, to give peculiar doctrines perpetuity, for 
they assumed that an establishment and human ordinance are of 
ao service in supporting or perpetuating the Church of Christ. 

But 

* The Kirk of Scotland is, we believe, the only national 
Church in the world in which the Holy Scriptures are not read. 
When its ministers are asked why they do not conform to the 
authorised Ritual for the public worship of the nation, and read 
the word of God regularly to the people, they answer that 
" the people do not like it." Bat. if it be true that the people 
do not like to hear the Scriptures read in the house of God, 
this extraordinary fact is the strongest proof that can be adduced 
of the necessity of reading them, and of beginning to read 
them without rf, lay. How can it be expected that the blessing 
of God should continue to accompany the ministrations of any 
Church where his holy word ceases to be solemnly read to ths 
people. 



124 



Christian iReseatrfjes 



.the Church appears to be ignorant, and formal, and dead, 
there are individuals who are alive to righteousness, who 

But yet with the first generation of men (who had their educa- 
tion in Halis and Colleges) the spiritual fervor seemed to pass 
away. Instead of increasing, it decreased and declined in most 
places, till little more than the name was left. For when the 
spirit is gone, (in a church having no form) nothing is left. In 
the mean time, there was a revival of religion in England (not 
amongst them, but in Halls and Colleges ;) in the midst of 
rational forms and evangelical articles : tl for so it seemed 
good unto god and from that source is derived the greater 
part of pure religion now professed in this land, under what- 
ever form it may exist. 

These observations are not made in a spirit of disrespect for 
any mode of Christian worship : every form, we know, is 
human, and therefore, imperfect : nor is perfection required ; 
for that form is best for the time, which is best administered. 
Christ left no form : (though he approved of the forms which 
he found) because Churches in different climates, must have 
different forms. " There are differences of administrations, 
(saith the Apostle) but the same Lord." 1 Cor. i. 12. " One 
" man esteemeth one day above another. He that regardeth 
te the day, (as Easter and Pentecost) regardeth it unto the 
" Lord j and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he 
" doth not regard it." Rom. xiv. 6. We are not to " despise 
a weak brother, for whom Christ died," (1 Cor. viii. 11.) 
though he be destitute of learning, and think he possesses all 
that is necessary for regulating a Church, when he has got the 
leaves of the New Testament ; when the truth is, that a know- 
ledge of cotemporary history and languages is as necessary to 
understand certain facts of the New Testament, as the facts of 
any other book. — But the above- remarks have been made with 
this view, to qualify the contempt, which ignorant persons in 
small sects frequently express for the established worship of a 
Christian Empire. 



are distinguished from the rest by their purity of life, and 
are sometimes censured for too rigid a piety. 

< The following are the chief doctrines of this ancient 
Church : 

' 1. They hold the doctrine of a vicarious Atonement 
for the sins of men, by the blood and merits of Christ, 
and of the justification of the soul before God, " by 
faith alone/' in that atonement. 

( 2. They maintain the Regeneration, or new birth 
of the Soul to righteousness, by the influence of the Spi- 
rit of God, which change is called in their books, from 
the Greek, the Meta-Noia, or change of Mind. 

' 3. In regard to the Trinity, the creed of the Syrian 
Christians accords with that of St. Athanasius, but with- 
out the damnatory clauses. In a written and official 
communication to the English Resident of Travancore, 
the Metropolitan states it to be as follows : 

" We believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
tf three persons in one God, neither confounding the 
" persons nor dividing the substance, one in three, and 
" three in one. The Father generator, the Son genera- 
" ted, and the Holy Ghost proceeding. None is before 
" or after the other ; in majesty, honour, might, and power 
" co-equal ; Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity." 
He then proceeds to disclaim the different errors of 
Arius, Sabelius, Macedonius, Manes, Marcianus, Julia- 
nus, Nestorius, and the Chalcedonians ; and concludes, 
" That in the appointed time, through the disposition 
" of the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Son appeared on 
" earth for the salvation of mankind; that he was born 



i c 26 Christian iResearcljes 

ec of the Virgin Mary, through the means of the Holy 
" Ghost, and was incarnate God and man." 



e In every Church, and in many of the private houses, 
here are manuscripts in the Syriac Language : and I" have 
been successful in procuring some old and valuable 
copies of the Scriptures and other books, written in dif- 
ferent ages and in different characters/ 



£ Cande-nad, a Church of the Syrian Christians, 
November 23, 1806*. 

c This is the residence of Mar Dionysius, the Metro- 
politan of the Syrian Church. A number of the Priests 
from the other Churches had assembled by desire of the 
Bishop, before my arrival. The Bishop resides in a 
building attached to the Church. I was much struck 
with his first appearance. He was drest in a vestment of 
dark red silk ; a large golden cross hung from his neck, 
and his venerable beard reached below his girdle. Such, 
thought I, was the appearance of Chrysostom in the 
fourth century. On public occasions, he wears the 
Episcopal mitre ; a muslin robe is thrown over his under 
garment; and in his hand he bears the crosier, or pasto- 
ral staff. — He is a man of highly respectable character 
in his Church, eminent for his piety, and for the atten- 
tion \\e devotes to his sacred functions, I found him 



respecting flje &j>rtan& 127 

to be far superior in general learning to any of his clergy 
whom I had yet seen. He told me that all my conversa- 
tions with his Priests since my arrival in the country had 
been communicated to him. < You have come/ said he, 
to visit a declining Church, and I am now an old man : 
but the hopes of its seeing- better days cheer my old age, 
though I may not live to see them.' — I submitted to the 
Bishop my wishes in regard to the translation and print- 
ing of the Holy Scriptures. £ I have already fully con- 
sidered the subject,' said he, s and have determined to 
superintend the work myself, and to call the most learn- 
ed of my clergy to my aid. It is a work which will Illu- 
minate these dark regions, and God will give it his bles- 
sing.' I was much pleased when I heard this pious 
resolution of the venerable man ; for I had now ascer- 
tained that there are upwards of 200,000 Christians m 
the South of India, besides the Syrians, who speak the 
Malabar Language.— The next subject of importance in 
my mind, was the collection of useful manuscripts in the 
Chaldaic and Syriac Languages; and the Bishop was 
pleased to say that he would assist my inquiries and add 
to my collection.— He descanted with great satisfaction 
on the hope of seeing printed Syriac Bibles from Eng- 
land ; and said they would be c a treasure to his Church/ 



< Cande^nad, 24ih November, 1806. 
: ■< Since my coming amongst this people, I had che- 
f shed the hope that they might be one day united with 



ic3 e&rtsttan iaesearties 

the Church of England. When I reflected on the Im- 
mense power of the Romish Church in India, and on our 
inability to withstand its influence, alone, it appeared to 
be an object of great consequence to secure the aid and 
co-operation of the Syrian Church, and the sanction of 
its antiquity in the East. I thought it might be ser- 
viceable, at least, to lay such a foundation by the discus- 
sion of the subject, as our Church might act upon here- 
after, if he should think it expedient. I was afraid to 
mention the subject to the Bishop at our first interview ; 
but he himself intimated that he would be glad I would 
communicate freely upon it with two of his clergy.— I 
had hitherto observed somewhat of a reserve in those 
with whom I had conversed on this matter : and now the 
cause was explained. The Bishop's chaplins confessed 
to me that they had doubts as to the purity of English 
Ordination. 6 The English,' said they, 6 may be a warlike 
and great people ; but their Church, by your own ac- 
count, is but of a recent origin. Whence do you derive 
your Ordination ?' 6 From Rome/ < You derive it from a 
Church which is our ancient enemy, and with which we 
would never unite.'— They acknowledged that there 
might be salvation in every Church where 6 the name of 
Christ was named ;' but in the question of an union, it 
was to be considered that they had existed a pure Church 
of Christ from the earliest ages ; that if there was such a 
thing in the world as Ordination by the laying on of 
hands, in succession from the Apostles, it was probable 
that they possessed it ; that there was no record of his- 
tory or tradition to impeach their claim. I observed 
that there was reason to believe that the same Ordinatioii 



respecting m B^tms, m 

had descended from the Apostles, to the Church of Rome 
' It m,ght be so : but that Church had departed from the 
tatth. I answered that the impurity of the channel had 
not corrupted the ordinance itself, or invalidated the le- 
gitimacy of the imposition of hands ; any more than the 
wickedness of a High Priest inlsrael could disqualify his 
successors. The Church of England assumed that she 
derived Apostolical Ordination through the Church of 
Rome, as she might have derived it through the Church 
of Antioch. I did not consider that the Church of En- 
gland was entitled to reckon her Ordination to be higher 
or more sacred than that of the Syrian Church. This 
was the point upon which they wished me to be explicit 
They expected that in any official negotiation on this 
subject, the antiquity and purity of Syrian Ordination 
should be expressly admitted. 

' Our conversation was reported to the Bishop. He 
wished me to state the advantages of an Union. One 
advantage would be, I observed, that English Clergymen, 
or rather Missionaries ordained by the Church of En- 
gland, might be permitted hereafter to preach in the 
numerous Churches of the Syrians in India, and aid them 
in the promulgation of pure religion, against the pre- 
ponderating and increasing influence of the Romish 
Church ; and again, That Ordination by the Syrian 
Bishop might qualify for preaching in the English 
Churshes in India; for we had an immense Empire in 
Hindostan, but few Preachers : and of these few scarcely 
any could preach in the native languages.— The Bishop 
said, < I would sacrifice much for such an Union : only 
let me not be called to compromise any thing of the 



K 



i so Cftrtetten taesearcljes 

dignity and purity of our Church,' I told him, we die* 
not wish to degrade, we would rather protect and defend 
it All must confess that it was Christ's Church in the 
midst of a heathen land. The Church of England would 
be happy to promote its welfare, to revive its spirit, and 
to use it as an instrument of future good in the midst o£ 
her own Empire. I took this occasion to observe that 
there were some rites and practices in the Syrian 
Church, which our Church might consider objectionable 
or nugatory. The Bishop confessed that some customs 
had been introduced during their decline in the latter 
centuries, which had no necessary connection with the 
constitution of the Church, and might be removed with- 
out inconvenience. He asked whether I had authority 
from my own Church to make any proposition to him. 
I answered that I had not : that my own Church scarcely 
knew that the Syrian Church existed : but I could anti- 
eioate the wishes and purposes of good men. He 
thought it strange that there was no Bishop in India to 
superintend so large an Empire; and said he did not 
Perfectly comprehends*! our ecclesiastical principles. I 
told him that we had sent Bishops to other countries ; 
but that our Indian Empire was yet in its infancy. - 
Next day, the Bishop, after conferring with his clergy 
m the "subject, returned an answer in writing to the 
following effed? : < That an union with the English 
Churchror, at least, such a connection as should appear 
to both Churches practicable and expedient, would be a 
happy event, and favourable to the advancement of Reli- 
gion in India.' In making this communication, he used 
his official designation, < Mar Dionysius, Metropolitan of 



vtepntins t&e Syrian*, isi 

Malabar/— -I asked the Bishop if he would permit two 
of the young Cassanars to go to England to finish their 
education, and then return to India. He said he should 
be very happy to give his permission, if any should be 
found who were willing to go. I have accordingly made 
the offer to two youths of good abilities, who are well 
skilled in the Syriac Language/ 



( Cande-nad, 25th Nov. 

6 The Bishop was desirous to know something of the 
other Churches which had separated from Rome. I was 
ashamed to tell him how many they were. I mentioned 
that there was a Kasheesha or Presbyter Church in our 
own kingdom, in which every Kasheesha was equal to 
another. < And are there no Shimshanas V (Deacons 
in holy orders). < None/ < And what, is there nobody to 
overlook the Kasheeshas V ' Not one.' < And who is the 
Angel of their Church V (alluding to the form of the 
seven Churches in Asia. Rev. ii. 1) < They have none/ 
e There must be something imperfect there/ said he.* 



* It is proper to state, for the satisfaction of those who may 
differ in opinion with the venerable Bishop, that in the Syriac 
translation of the New Testament, there is no proper word for 
Bishop other than Kasheesha. The words Kasheesha and Shum* 
shana, or properly Me-shumshana, are the two terms for the 
two orders of Bishop and Deacon, in the third chapter of 1st 
K % 



1 32 e&rtetfeu ELeseardjes 

This led to the mention of the different sects. Those 
which most interested him were the Quakers and Bap- 
tists. He said it was an imposing idea to wash the hody 
with water, to begin a new life. He asked whether they 
were baptized again every time they relapsed into sin 
and known apostacy.— Are there good men amongst 
these sects ?' 6 Excellent men almost in all.' c I see it is 
with you as it was in the first ages ; new sects were pro- 
duced by true piety, but it was piety founded on igno- 
rance. But do not good men in these sects relax a lit- 
tle when they grow old V 6 Yes, they speak in general 
less frequently and less dogmatically of their peculiar 
forms when they are old : one reason of which is, that 
the smaller sects, who are, for the most part poor, gene- 
rally acquire their competence of learning in advanced 
life.' — We next had some conversation concerning forms 
of worship ; whether Christ intended that his Church 
should have the same form under the burning line, and 
in a country of frost and snow.' 



Timothy. The terms Episcopos and Methropolita have been in- 
troduced into the Syrian Church from the Greek. The Bishop 
seemed to be more surprised at (he striking cut the sacred order 
of Deacon, than at not rinding the order of a superintend Ivg 
Priest or Bishop. 



c Udiamper, Dec. 1806. 

^ From Cande-nad I returned to the sea-coast to visit 
Lieut.-Colonel Macaulay, the British Resident in Tra- 
vancore. He is at present on the island of Bal-gatty, 
called by the natives the Pepper-Jungle. I have derived 
much valuable information from this intelligent officer, 
who possesses a better knowledge of the South of India, 
than ! suppose any other European. He is a gentle- 
man of a highly cultivated mind, of much various learn- 
ing, and master of several languages. To these attain- 
ments he adds a quality which does not always accom- 
pany them.— He is the friend of Christianity. After 
residing with him a few days, he accompanied me in a 
Tour to the interior. We first visited Udiamper, or as it 
is called by the Portuguese writers Diamper. This was 
formerly the residence of Beliarte, King of the Chris- 
tians • and here is the Syrian Church at which Arch^ 
bishop Menezes from Goa, convened the Synod of the 
Syrian Clergy in 1590, when he burned the Syriac and 
Chaldaic books. The Syrians report, that while the 
flames ascended, he went round the Church in proces- 
sion chaunting a song of triumph. 

' From Udiamper, Colonel Macaulay accompanied me 
to Cande-nad, to visit the Syrian Bishop a second time. 
He told us he had commenced the translation of the 
Scriptures. He was rather indisposed, and said he felt 
the infirmities of advanced years, his age being now 
seventy- eight. I promised to see him once more before 
1 left the country/ 



134 eijusttan iaesearcijes 



6 Cranganore, 9th Dec. 1806, 
< This is that celebrated place of Christian antiquity 
where the Apostle Thomas is said to have landed, when 
he first arrived in India from Aden in Arabia. There 
was formerly a town and fort at Cranganore, the Portu- 
guese having once thought of making it the emporium 
of their commerce in India ; but both are now in ruins. 
There is however one substantial relic of its greatness. 
There is an Archbishop of Cranganore, and subject to 
him there are forty-five Churches ; many of which I 
entered. In some of them the worship is conducted 
with as much decorum as in the Romish Churches of 
Western Ireland. Not far from Cranganore is the town 
of Paroor, where there is an ancient Syrian Church, 
which bears the name of the Apostle Thomas. It is 
supposed to be the oldest in Malabar, and is still used 
for Divine Service. I took a drawing of it. The tra- 
dition among the Syrians is, that the Apostle continued 
at this place for a time, before he went to preach at 
Melapoor and St. Thomas's Mount, on the coast of 
Coromandel, where he was put to death. — The fact is 
certainly of little consequence \ but I am satisfied that 
we have as good authority for believing that the Apos- 
tle Thomas died in India, as that the Apostle Peter died 
at Rome/ 



mpttttng tl)t g>j>rtan& 1 35 

* - 



x Verapoli, Dec. 1806. 
* This is the residence of Bishop Raymondo, the Pope's 
Apostolic Vicar in Malabar. There is a College here 
for the sacerdotal office, in which the students (from ten 
to twenty in number) are instructed in the Latin and 
Syriac Languages.— At Pulingunna there is another 
College, in which the Syriac alone is taught. Here I 
counted twelve Students. The Apostolic Vicar super- 
intends sixty-four Churches ; exclusive of the forty-five 
governed by the Archbishop of Cranganore, and exclu- 
sive of the large Dioceses of the Bishops of Coehin and 
of Quilon, whose Churches extend to Cape Comorin, 
and are visible from the sea. The view of this assem- 
blage of Christian congregations excited in my mind 
mingled sensations of pleasure and regret ; of pleasure 
to think that so many of the Hindoos have been rescued 
from the idolatry of Brahma, and its criminal worship; 
and of regret when I reflected that there was not to be 
found among the whole body, one copy of the Holy 
Bible. 

The Apostolic Vicar is an Italian, and corresponds 
with the Society ' de propaganda Fide/ He is a man of 
liberal manners, and gave me free access to the archives 
of Verapoli, which are upwards of two centuries old. 
In the library I found many volumes marked * Liber he- 
reticus prohibitus.' Almost every step I take in Chris- 
tian India, I meet with a memento of the Inquisition, 
The Apostolical Vicar, however, does not acknowledge 
its authority, and places himself under British protecr 
tion. He spoke of the Inquisition with just indignation^ 



136 Christian mesearrijes 

and, in the presence of the British Resident, called it 
6 a horrid Tribunal.' I asked him whether he thought I 
might with safety visit the Inquisition, when I sailed past 
Goa; there being at this time a British force in its 
vicinity. It asserted a personal jurisdiction over 
natives who were now British subjects : and it was proper 
the English Government should know something of its 
present state. The Bishop answered, 6 I do not know 
what you might do under the protection of a British 
force ; but I should not like (smiling, and pressing his 
capacious sides,) to trust my body in their hands/ 

e We then had some conversation on the subject of 
giving the Scriptures to the native Roman Catholics. 
I had heard before, that the Bishop was by no means 
hostile to the measure. I told him that I should proba- 
bly find the means of translating the Scriptures into the 
Malabar Language, and wished to know whether he had 
any objection to this mode of illuminating the ignorant 
minds of the native Christians. He said he had none. 
I visited the Bishop two or three times afterwards. At 
our last interview he said, i I have been thinking of the 
good gift you are meditating for the native Christians \ 
but believe me, the Inquisition will endeavour to coun- 
teract your purposes by every means in their power. I 
afterwards conversed with an intelligent native Priest, 
who was well acquainted with the state and character of 
the Christians, and asked him whether he thought they 
would be happy to obtain the Scriptures ? — 6 Yes,' an- 
swered he, 6 those who have heard of them.' I asked if 
he had got a Bible himself ? — € No/ he said ; 6 but he 
had seen one at Goa/ * 



reverting ti>e gotten*. 137 



c Angamalee, a Syrian Town, containing Three Churches, 

January, 1807. 

' I have penetrated once more inland to visit the Syrian 
Churches, At the town of Cenotta, I was surprised 
to meet with Jews and Christians in the same street 
The Jews led me first to their Synagogue, and allowed 
me to take away some manuscripts for money. The 
Syrian Christians then conducted me to their ancient 
church. I afterwards sat down on an eminence above 
the town to contemplate this interesting spectac5e ; a 
Jewish Synagogue, and a Christian Church, standing 
over against each other ; exhibiting, as it were, during 
many revolving ages, the Law and the Gospel to the 
view of the heathen people. 

< Angamalee is one of the most remote of the Syrian 
towns in this direction, and is situated on a high land. 
This was once the residence of the Syrian Bishop. 
The inhabitants told me, that when Tippoo Sultan in- 
vaded Travancore, a detachment of his cavalry penetra- 
ted to Angamalee, where they expected to find great 
wealth, from its ancient fame. Being Mahomedans, 
they expressed their abhorrence of the Christian reli- 
gion, by destroying one of the lesser Churches, and sta- 
bling their horses in the great Church. In this place 
I have found a good many valuable manuscripts. I 
had been led to suppose, from the statement of the 
Portuguese historians, that possibly all the Syriac MSB. 



138 



eijtfettan Eesearciies 



of the Bible had been burned by the Romish Church 
at the Synod of Diamper, in 1599. But this was not 
the case. The Inquisitors condemned many books to 
the flames 3 but they saved the Bible ; being content to 
order that the Syriac Scriptures should be amended 
agreeably to the Vulgate of Rome. But many Bibles 
and other volumes were not produced at all. In the 
acts of the council of Nice, it is recorded, that Johan- 
nes, Bishop of India, signed his name at that council 
in a. 325. The Syriac version of the Scriptures was 
brought to India, according to the popular belief, before 
the year 325. Some of their present copies are certain- 
ly of ancient date. Though written on a strong thick 
paper, like that of some MSS. in the British Museum, 
commonly called Eastern paper, the ink has, in several 
places, eat through the material in the exact form of the 
letter. In other copies, where the ink had less of a 
corroding quality, it has fallen off, and left a dark vestige 
of the letter ; faint, indeed, but not in general illegible. 

There is a volume, which was deposited in one 
of the remote Churches, near the mountains, which 
merits a particular description. It contains the Old 
and New Testaments, engrossed on strong vellum, 
in large folio, having three columns in a page ; and is 
written with beautiful accuracy. The character is Es- 
trangelo Syriac ; and the words of every book are num- 
bered. But the volume has suffered injury from time 
or neglect. In certain places the ink has been totally 
obliterated from the page, and left the parchment in 
its state of natural whiteness : but the letters can, in 
general, be distinctly traced from the impress of the 



reacting tlje g>prtau0, 1 39 



pen, or from the partial corrosion of the ink. I scarcely 
expected that the Syrian Church would have parted with 
this manuscript. But the Bishop was pleased to present 
it to me, saying, e It will be safer in your hands than in 
our own;' alluding to the revolutions in Hindostan. — 
' And yet/ said he, ' we have kept it, as some think, for 
near a thousand years/ — e I wish/ said I, ' that England 
may be able to keep it a thousand years/ — In looking 
over it, I find the very first proposed emendation of the 
Hebrew Text by Dr. Kennicott, (Gen. iv. 8.) in this 
manuscript ; and, no doubt, it is the right reading. The 
disputed passage in 1 John v. 7. is not to be found in it; 
nor is this verse to be found in any copy of the Syriac 
Scriptures, which I have yet seen.* The view of these 
copies of the Scriptures, and of the Churches which 



* Notwithstanding this omission, the author believes the 
passage to be genuine. The foundation on which he builds 
this opinion, is the following : Considering, as he does, that 
the learning and argument on both sides of the subject, have 
been nearly equal, he would rest the genuineness of the verse 
on the answer to the following question : " Which is most 
likely to be true, That the Arians of the fourth century, in 
their fury against the Church should silently omit a testimony, 
(in transcribing their copies) which, if true, destroyed their 
whole system ; or That the general Church should directly 
forge and insert it ?" 

This appears to the author to be the just mode of stating the 
question ; but he has certainly no wish to awaken the contro- 
versy concerning this verse. If it be genuine it is only one of 
the hewn-stones of the temple. If it be not genuine, it is 
not a corner-stone. 



140 e&rtettan mesearcfteg 



contain them, still continues to excite a pleasing astonish^ 
ment in my mind : and I sometimes question myself, 
whether I am indeed in India, in the midst of the Hin- 
doos, and not far from the equinoctial line. How won- 
derful it is, that during the dark ages of Europe, whilst 
ignorance and superstition, in a manner, denied the 
Scriptures to the rest of the world, the Bible should 
have found an asylum in the mountains of Malay-ala; 
where it was freely read by upwards of an hundred 
Churches ! 

( But there are other ancient documents in Malabar, 
not less interesting than the Syrian Manuscripts. The 
old Portuguese historians relate, that soon after the 
arrival of their countrymen in India, about 300 years 
ago, the Syrian Bishop of Angamalee (the place where 
I now am) deposited in the Fort of Cochin, for safe 
custody, certain tablets of brass, on which were engraved 
rights of nobility, and other privileges granted by a Prince 
of a former age ; and that while these Tablets were under 
the charge of the Portuguese, they had been unaccount- 
ably lost, and were never after heard of. Adrian Moens, 
a Governor of Cochin, in 1770, who published some 
account of the Jews of Malabar, informs us that he used 
every means in his power, for many years, to obtain a 
sight of the famed Christian Plates 5 and was at length 
satisfied that they were irrecoverably lost, or rather, he 
adds, that they never existed. The learned in general, 
and the Antiquarian in particular, will be glad to hear 
that these ancient Tablets have been recovered within 
this last month by the exertions of Colonel Macaulav. 



resetting flje 8$riu& 141 

the British Resident in Travancore, and are now officially 
deposited with that officer. 

6 The Christian Tablets are six in number. They 
are composed of a mixed metal. The engraving on 
the largest plate is thirteen inches long, by about four 
broad. They are closely written, four of them on both 
sides of the plate, making in all eleven pages. On 
the plate reputed to be the oldest, there is writing per- 
spicuously engraved in nail-headed or triangular-headed 
letters, resembling thePersepolitan or Babylonish . On the 
same plate there is writing in another character, which is 
supposed to have no affinity with any existing character in 
Hindostan. The grant on this plate appears to be wit- 
nessed by four Jews of rank, whose names are dis- 
tinctly engraved in an old Hebrew character, resembling 
the alphabet called the Palmyrene : and to each name is 
prefixed the title of ( Magen,' or Chief, as the Jews 
translated it. — It may be doubted, whether there exists in 
the world any documents of so great length, which 
are of equal antiquity, and in such faultless preservation, 
as the Christian Tablets of Malabar.— The Jews of 
Cochin indeed contest the palm of antiquity : for they 
also produce two Tablets, containing privileges granted 
at a remote period; of which they presented to me a 
Hebrew translation. As no person can be found in this 
country who is able to translate the Christian Tablets, 
I have directed an engraver at Cochin to execute on 
copper-plates a fac simile of the whole, for the purpose 
of transmitting copies to the learned Societies in Asia 
and Europe. The Christian and Jewish plates together 
make fourteen pages. A copy was sent in the first 



142 Cijrfettan Eeseattljes 

instance to the Pundits of the Shanscrit College at 
Trichiur, by direction of the Rajah of Cochin ; but they 
could not read the character.* — From this place I pro- 
ceed to Cancle-nad, to visit the Bishop once more before 
I return to Bengal/ 



THE MALABAR BIBLE. 

After the Author left Tra van core, the Bishpp 
prosecuted the translation of the Scriptures into 
the Malabar Language without intermission, 
until he had completed the New Testament. 
The year following, the Author visited Travan- 
core a second time, and carried the Manuscript 
to Bombay to be printed, an excellent fount of 
Malabar types having been recently cast at that 
place. Learned natives went from Travancore 
to superintend the press; and it is probable 
that it is now nearly finished, as a copy of the 
Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, beau- 



* Most of the Manuscripts which I collected among thfc 
Syrian Christians, I have presented to the University of Cam- 
bridge : and they are now deposited in the Public Library of 
that University, together with the copperplate fac-similes of 
the Christian and Jewish Tablets. 



reverting tfyz #ptaB»* 245 

ti fully printed, was received in England some 
time ago. This version of the Scriptures will be 
prosecuted until the whole Bible is completed, 
and copies circulated throughout the Christian 
regions of Malabar.* 



THE SYRIAC BIBLE. 
It has been further in contemplation to print 



* The Author received fiom the Syrian Christians the names 
of several Christian churches in Mesopotamia and Syria, with 
which they formerly had intercourse, and which constitute the 
remnant of the ancient church of Antioch. These have, 
for the most part, remained in a tranquil state under Maho- 
medan dominion, for several ages ; and the Author promised 
the Syrian Bishop that he would visit them, if circumstances 
permitted. For this purpose he intended to have returned from 
India to Europe by a route over land, and he had proceeded as far 
as Bombay for that purpose ; but the French influence at the 
Court of Persia at that time, prevented him. He has it now 
in contemplation to make a voyage from England, and to fulfil 
his promise if practicable j the relations of amity subsisting 
between Great Britain and the Porte and Persia rendering lite- 
rary researches in these regions more easy than at any former 
period. He proposes also to visit Jerusalem and the interior 
of Palestine, Greece, and the Archipelago, with the view of 
investigating subjects connected with the translation of the 
Scriptures, and the extension of Christianity. 



144 e&rtstfau Eegeareljes 



an edition of the Syriac Scriptures, if the pub- 
lic should countenance the design. This gift, 
it may be presumed, the English nation will be 
pleased to present to the S} rian Christians. We 
are already debtors to that ancient people. They 
have preserved the manuscripts of the Holy 
Scriptures incorrupt, during a long series of 
ages, and have now committed them into our 
own hands. By their long and energetic defence 
of pure doctrine against anti-christian error, 
they are entitled to the gratitude and thanks of 
the rest of the Christian world. Further, they 
have preserved to this day the language in which 
our blessed Lord preached to men the glad 
tidings of Salvation. Their Scriptures, their 
doctrine, their language, in short their very 
existence, all add something to the evidence of 
the truth of Christianity. 

The motives then for printing an edition of 
the Syriac Bible are these : 

1. To do honour to the language which was 
spoken by our blessed Saviour when upon earth. 

2. To do honour to that ancient Church, 
which has preserved his language and his doc- 
trine. 

3. As the means of perpeniating the true 
Faith in the same Church for ages to come. 

4. As the means of preserving the pronun- 



C&e tots!) Cfttttfeng, 145 

ciation, and of cultivating the knowledge of the 
Syriac Language in the East ; and 

S- As the means of reviving the knowledge of 
the Syriac Language in our own nation. 

On the Author's return to England, he 
could not find one copy of the Syriac Bible 
in a separate volume for sale in the kingdom. 
He wished to send a copy to the Syrian Bishop, 
as an earnest of more when an edition should be 
printed. 

The Syriac Bible is wanted not only by the 
Churches of the Syrian Christians, but by the 
still more numerous Churches of the Syro- 
Romish Christians in Malabar, and by the Nes- 
torian and Jacobite Christians in Persia, Arme- 
nia, and Tartary, who also use the Syriac Lan- 
guage. 



THE ROMISH CHRISTIANS IN INDIA, 

In every age of the Church of Rome, there 
have been individuals, of an enlightened piety 
who derived their religion not from " the com' 
mandments of men," but from the doctrines 
of the Bible. There are at this day, in India 



146 Christian Bcscarcljesi. 

and in England, members of that communion, 
who deserve the affection and respect of all good 
men ; and whose cultivated minds will arraign 
the corruptions of their own religion, which 
the Author is about to describe, more severely 
than he will permit himself to do. He is in- 
deed prepared to speak of Roman Cathohcs 
with as much liberality as perhaps any Protes- 
tant has ever attempted on Christian pnnc.ples : 
for he is acquainted with individuals, whose 
unaffected piety he considers a reproach to a 
great body of Protestants, even of the strictest 
sort. It is indeed painful to say any thing 
which may seem to feeling and noble minds un- 
generous; but those enlightened persons, whose 
good opinion it is desirable to preserve, wdl 
themselves be pleased to see that t uth is not 
sacrificed to personal respect, or to a spurious 
candour. Their own Church sets an example 
of " plainness of speech" in the assertion of 
those tenets which it professes, some of 
which must be extremely painful to the feeling 
of Protestants, in their social intercourse with 
Catholics ; such as, » That there is no salvation 
" out of "he pale of the Romish Church." 

This exclusive character prevents concord and 
intimacy between Protestant and Catholic fami- 
lies. On the principles of Infidelity they can as- 



sociate very easily ; but on the principles of 
Religion, the Protestant must ever be on the 
defensive; for the Romish Church excommuni- 
cates him : and although he must hope that 
some individuals do not maintain the tenet, yet 
Ms uncertainty as to the fact, prevents ' that 
cordiality which he desires. Many excellent 
Catholics suffer unjustly in their intercourse 
with Protestants, from the ancient and exclu- 
sive articles of their own Church, which they 
themselves neither profess nor believe. If they 
will only intimate to their Protestant friends, 
that they renounce the exclusive principle, and 
that they profess the religion of the Bible, no 
more seems requisite to form with such persons 
the sinceiest friendship on Christian principle 
At the present time we see the Romish Re- 
ligion in F.urope without dominion ; and hence it 
is viewed by the mere philosopher, with indif- 
ference or contempt. He is pleased to see, that 
the " seven heads and the ten horns" are taken 
away; and thinks nothing of the " names of 
f* blasphemy." But in the following pages, the 
Author will have occasion to shew what Rome 
is, as having dominion j and possessing it too 
within the boundaries of the British Empire. 

ha passing through the Romish Provinces in 
$wEmt, though the Author had before heard 



l <2 



148 Cfjrtettan Eeseaecljes* 

much of the Papal corruptions, he certainly did 
not expect to see Christianity in the degraded 
state in which he found it. Of the Priests it may 
truly be said, that they are, in general, better 
acquainted with the Veda of Brahma than with 
the Gospel of Christ In some places the doc- 
trines of both are blended. At Aughoor, situa- 
ted between Tritchinopoly and Madura, he visit- 
ed a Christian Church and saw near it, (in Oc- 
tober 1806) a Tower of Juggernaut which is 
employed in solemnizing the Christian festivals. 
The old Priest Josephus accompanied him to 
the spot, and while he surveyed the idolatrous car 
and its painted figures, the Priest gave him a 
particular account of the various ceremonies 
which are performed, seemingly unconscious 
himself of any impropriety in them. The Au- 
thor went with him afterwards into the Church, 
and seeing a book lying on the attar, opened it ; 
but the Reader may judge of his surprize, when 
he found it was a Syriac volume, and was in- 
formed that the Priest himself was a descend- 
ant of the Syrian Christians, and belonged to 
what is now called the Syro- Roman Church, the 
whole service of which is in Syriac. — Thus, by 
the intervention of the Papal power, are the 
ceremonies of Moloch consecrated in a manner 
by the sacred Syriac Language. What a heavy 



responsibility lies ob Rome, for having thus 
corrupted and degraded that pure and ancient 
Church ! 

While the Author viewed these Christian cor- 
roptions in different places, and in different 
forms, he was always jckmd to the Inqui- 
sition at Goa, as the fountain-head, He had 
long cherished the hope, that he should be able 
to visit Goa before he left India. His chief ob- 
jects were the following i 

2. To ascertain whether the Inquisition actu- 
ally refused to recognize the Bible, among the 
Romish Churches in British India. 

2, To inquire into the state and jurisdiction 
of the Inquisition, particularly as it affected 
British subjects, 

S. To learn what was tbe>ystem of education 
for the Priesthood ; and 

4. To examine the ancient -Church-libraries in 
Goa, which were said to contain all the books 
of the first printing. 

He will select from his journal, in this place, 
chiefly what relates to the Inquisition. He had 
learnt from every quarter, that this tribunal, for- 
merly so well known for its frequent burnings, 
was still in operation, though under some re- 
striction as to the publicity of its proceedings ; 
and that its power extended to the extreme 



1 50 eijtfettan mmtfytz. 

boundary of Hindostan. That, in the present 
civilized state of Christian nations in Europe, an 
Inquisition should exist at all under their au- 
thority, appeared strange ; but that a Papal tri- 
bunal of this character should exist under the 
implied toleration and countenance of the Bri- 
tish Government; that Christians, being sub- 
jects of the British Empire, and inhabiting the 
British territories, should be amenable to its 
power and jurisdiction, was a statement which 
seemed to be scarcely credible ; but, if true, a fact 
which demanded the most public and solemn 
representation. 



Goa ; Convent of the Augustinians, 
Jan. 23, 1808. 

f On my arrival at Goa, I was received into the 
house of Captain Schuyler, the British Resident. The 
British force here is commanded by Colonel Adams, 
of His Majesty's 78tk Regiment, with whom I was 
formerly well acquainted in Bengal.* Next day I 



* The forts in the harbour of Goa were then occupied by 
British troops (two King's regiments, and two regiments of 
Native infantry) to prevent its falling into the hands of the 

French. 



Clje & onus?) <£\>vimm. isi 

was introduced by these gentlemen to the Vice-Roy 
of Goa, the Count de Cabral. I intimated to His 
Excellency my wish to sail up the river to Old Goa, * 
(where the Inquisition is,) to which he politely acceded. 
Major Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, who 
was present, and to whom I had letters of Introduction 
from Bengal, offered to accompany me to the city, and 
to introduce me to the Archbishop of Goa, the Primate 
of the Orient. 

< I had communicated to Colonel Adams, and to the 
British Resident, my purpose of enquiring into the state 
of the Inquisition. These gentlemen informed me, that 
I should not be able to accomplish my design without 
difficulty; since every thing relating to the Inquisition 
was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respect- 
able of the Lay Portuguese themselves being ignorant of 
its proceedings ; and that, if the Priests were to discover 
my object, their excessive jealousy and alarm would 
prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my 
inquiries on any subject. 

'On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it 
would be necessary to proceed with caution. I was, in 

*• i i . .. .- . , .. — , — „ 

* There ti Old and New Goa. The old city is about eight 
miles up the river. The Vice-Roy and the chief Portuguese 
inhabitants reside at New Goa, which is at the mouth of the 
river, within the forts of the harbour. The old city where 
the Inquisition and the Churches are, is now almost entirely de- 
serted by the secular Portuguese, and is inhabited by the Priests 
alone. The unhealthiness of the place, and the ascendancy of 
the Priests, are the causes assigned for abandoning the ancient 



m christian mmxtyts. 

fact, about to visit a republic of Priests j whose dominion 
had existed for nearly three centuries ; whose province it 
was to prosecute heretics, and particularly the teachers of 
heresy 5 and from whose authority and sentence there was 
no appeal in India.* 

f. It happened that Lieutenant Kempthorne, Comman- 
der of His Majesty's brig Diana, a distant connection of 
my own, was at this time in the harbour. On his learn- 
ing that I meant to visit Old' Goa, he offered to accom- 
pany me; as did Captain Stirling, of His Majesty's 84th 
regiment, which is now stationed at the forts. 

« We proceeded up the river in the British Resident's 
barge accompanied by Major Pareira, who . was well 
qualified, by a thirty years' residence, to give information 
concerning local circumstances. From him I learned 
that there were upwards of two hundred Churches and 
Chapels in the province of Goa, and upwards of two 
thousand Priests/ 

< On our arrival at the city,f it was past twelve o'clock : 

* I was informed that the Vice-Roy of Qoa has no authority 
over the Inquisition, and that he himself is liable to its censure. 
Were the British Government, for instance, to prefer a com- 
plaint against the Inquisition to the Portuguese Government at 
Goa, it could obtain no redress. By the very constitution of 
the Inquisition, there is no power in India which can invade its 
jurisdiction, or even, put a question to it on any subject. 

f We entered the city by the palace gate, over which is the 
Statue of Vasco de Gama^ who first opened India to the view of 
Europe. I had seen at Calicut, a few weeks before, the ruins 
pf the Samorin' s Palace, in which Vasco de Gama was first 
received. The Samorin was the first native Prince against 



fc$e mmw €i>mtms. m 

all the Churches were shut, and we were told that they 
would not be opened again till two o'clock. I mentioned 
to Major Pareira, that I intended to stay at Old Goa 
some days j and that I should be obliged to him to find 
me a place to sleep in. He seemed surprised at this 
intimation, and observed that it would be difficult for me 
to obtain reception in any of the Churches or Convents, 
And that there were no private houses into which I could 
be admitted. I said I could sleep any where ; I had two 
servants with me, and a travelling bed. When he per- 
ceived that I was serious in my purpose, he gave direc- 
tions to a civil officer, to clear out a room in a building 
which had been long uninhabited, and which was then 
Used as a warehouse for goods. Matters at this time 
presented a very gloomy appearance ; and I had thoughts 
Pf returning with my companions from this inhospitable 
Place. In the mean time we sat down in the room I have 
just mentioned, to take some refreshment, while Major 
Pareira went to call on some of his friends. During this 
mterval, I communicated to Lieutenant Kempthorne the 
object of my visit. I had in my pocket 'Dellon's Ac- 
count of the Inquisition at Goa j* and I mentioned some 



whom the Europeans made war. The empire of the Samorin 
has passed away; and the empire of his conquerors has passed 
away: and now imperial Britain exercises dominion. May 
impenal Britain be prepared to give a good account of her 
stewardship, when it shall be said unto her, » Thou mayest be 
no longer steward !'' 

* Monsieur Dellon, a physician, was imprisoned in the dun- 
geon of (he Inquisitional Goa for two years, and witnessed an 



154 



particulars. While we were conversing on the subject, the 
great bell began to toll ; the same which Dellon observes 
always tolls, before day-light, on the morning of the 
Auto da Fe. I did not myself ask any questions of the 
people concerning the Inquisition ; but Mr. Kempthorne 
made inquiries for me : and he soon found out that the 
Santa Casa, or Holy Office, was close to the house 
where we were then sitting. The gentlemen went to 
the window to view the horrid mansion ; and I could see 
the indignation of free and enlightened men arise in 
the countenance of the two British officers, while they 
contemplated a place where formerly their own country- 
men were condemned to the flames, and into which they 
themselves might now suddenly be thrown, without the, 
possibility of rescue. 

« At two o'clock we went out to view the Churches, 
which were now open for the afternoon sendee ; for 
there are regular daily masses ; and the bells began to 
assail the ear in every quarter. 

< The magnificence of the Churches of Goa, far ex- 
ceeded any idea I had formed from the previous descrip- 
tion. Goa is properly a city of Churches ; and the wealth 
of provinces seems to have been expended in their erec- 
tion. The arrcient specimens of architecture at this 
place far excel any thing that has been attempted in mo- 
dern times in any other part of the East, both in gran- 
deur and in taste. The Chapel of the Palace is built 



Auto da Fe, when some heretics were burned ; at which he 
walked barefoot. After his release he wrote the history of his 
confinement. His descriptions are in general very accurate. 



after the plan of St. Peter's at Rome, and is said to be 
an accurate model of that paragon of architecture. The 
Church of St. Dominic, the founder of the Inquisition, 
is decorated with paintings of Italian masters. St. 
Francis Xavier lies enshrined in a monument of exqui- 
site art, and his coffin is enchased with silver and precious 
stones. The Cathedral of Goa is worthy of one of the 
principal cities of Europe ! and the Church and Convent 
of the Augustinians (in which I now reside) is a noble 
pile of building, situated on an eminence, and has a 
magnificent appearance from afar. 

But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the Church- 
es is the worship offered within ! I have been present 
at the service in one or other of the Chapels every 
day since I arrived ; and I seldom see a single worship- 
per, but the ecclesiastics. Two rows of native Priests, 
kneeling in order before the altar, clothed in coarse 
black garments, of sickly appearance, and vacant coun- 
tenance, perform here, from day to day, their laborious 
masses, seemingly unconscious of any other duty or 
obligation of life. 

' The day was now far spent, and my companions 
were about to leave me. While I was considering whe- 
ther I should return with them, Major Pareira, said he 
would first introduce me to a Priest, high in office, and 
one of the most learned men in the place. We accord- 
ingly walked to the Convent of the Augustinians; 
where I was presented to Joseph a Doloribus, a man well 
advanced in life, of pale visage and penetrating ey* 
rather of a reverend appearance, and possessing great 
fluency of speech and urbanity of manners. At first 
sight he presented the aspect of one of those acute and 



prudent men of the world, the learned and respectable 
Italian Jesuits, some of whom are yet found, since the 
demolition of their order, reposing in tranquil obscu- 
rity, in different parts of the East. After half an hour's 
conversation in the Latin language, during which he 
adverted rapidly to a variety of subjects, and enquired 
concerning some learned men of his own Church, whom 
I had visited in my tour, he politely invited me to take 
up my residence with him, during my stay at Old Goa. 
I was highly gratified by this unexpected invitation % hut 
Lieutenant Keropthorne did not approve of leaving me 
in the hands of the Inqwsit&r. For judge of our surprise, 
when we discovered that my learned host was one of the 
Inquisitors of the Holy Office, the second member of 
that august tribunal in rank, but the first and most 
active agent in the business of the department. Apart- 
ments were assigned to me in the College adjoining the 
Convent, next to the rooms of the Inquisitor himself 5 
and here I have been now four days at the very fountain 
head of information, in regard to those subjects which 
I wished to investigate. I breakfast and dine with the 
Inquisitor almost everyday, and he generally passes his 
evenings in my apartment. As he considers my enqui- 
ries to be chieiiy of a literary nature, he is perfectly 
candid and communicative on all subjects* 

* Next day after my arrival, I was introduced by my 
learned conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. We found 
him reading the Latin letters of St, Francis Xavier. On 
my adverting to the long duration of the city of Goa, 
while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered 
from war or revolution, the Archbishop observed, that 
the preservation of Goa> was owing to the prayers of St, 



Francis Xavier. The inquisitor looked at me to see what 
thou S ht oi thls sentiment, I acknowledged that 
Xavier was considered by the learned among the 
English to have been a great man : what he wrote him- 
self, bespeaks him a man of learning, of original ge- 
tnus, and great fortitude of mind; but what others have 
written for him, and of him, tarnished his fame, by 
making him the inventor of fables. The Archbishop 
signified his assent. He afterwards conducted me into 
Ins private Chapel, which is decorated with images of 
silver, and then into the Archiepis copal Library, which 
possesses a valuable collection of books,-As I passed 
through our Convent, in returning from the Arch- 
bishop's, I observed among the paintings in the cloisters, 
a portrait of the famous Alexis de Menexes, Archbishop 
of Goa, who held the Synod of Diamper near Cochin 
m 1599, and burned the books of the Syrian Christians. 
From the inscription underneath I learned that he was 
the founder of the magnificent Church and Convent in 
which I am now residing. 

6 On the same day I received an invitation to dine 
with the chief Inquisitor, at his house in the country. 
The second Inquisitor accompanied me, and we found a 
respectable company of Priests, and a sumptuous enter- 
tainment. In the library of the chief Inquisitor I saw 
a register, containing the present establishment of the 
Inquisition at Goa, and the names of all the officers. 
On my asking the chief Inquisitor whether the establish- 
ment was extensive as formerly, he said it was nearly 
the same. I had hitherto said little to any person con- 
cerning the Inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned 
much informatioa concerning it, not only from the Xa - 



158 " €l)xMm\\ Utmvtl)Z&. 

quisitors themselves, but from certain Priests, whom I 
visited at their respective convents ; particularly from a 
Father in the Fransciscan Convent, who had himsel£ 
repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Fe. 



< Goa, Jugustinian Convent, 26th Jon. 1808. 
c On Sunday, after divine service, which I attended, 
we looked over together the prayers and portions of 
Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concern- 
ing some of the doctrines of Christianity. We then 
read the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, in the 
Latin Vulgate. I asked the Inquisitor whether he 
believed in the influence in the spirit there spoken of. 
He distinctly admitted it ; conjointly however he though^ 
in some obscure sense, with water* I observed that 
water was merely an emblem of the purifying effects of 
the Spirit, and could be but an emblem. We next 
adverted to the expression of St. John in his first Epis- 
tle ; ' This is he that came by water and blood : even 
Jesus Christ ; not by water only, but by water and 
blood : — blood to atone for sin, and water to purify 
the heart; justification and sanctification : both of 
which were expressed at the same moment on the 
Cross. The Inquisitor was pleased with the sub^ 
ject. By an easy transition we passed to the im- 
portance of the Bible itself, to illuminate the priests 
and people. I noticed to him that after looking through 
the colleges and schools, there appeared to me to be a 
total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowledged that 
religion and learning were truly in a degraded state. — I 



had visited the theological schools, and at every place I 
expressed my surprize to the tutors, in presence of the 
pupils, at the absence of the Bible, and almost total 
want of reference to it. They pleaded the custom of the 
place, and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. 
Some of the younger Priests came to me afterwards, 
desiring to know by what means they might procure 
copies. This inquiry for Bibles was like a ray of hope 
beaming on the walls of the Inquisition. 

' I pass an hour sometimes in the spacious library of 
the Augustinian Convent, and think myself suddenly 
transported into one of the libraries of Cambridge. 
There are many rare volumes, but they are chiefly theolo- 
gical, and almost all of the sixteenth century. There 
are few classics $ and I have not yet seen one copy of the 
original Scriptures in Hebrew or Greek/ 



* Goa, Augustinian Convent, 27th Jem. 1808. 

* On the second morning after my arrival, I was 
surprised by my host, the Inquisitor, coming into my 
apartment clothed in black robes from head to foot : for 
the usual dress of his order is white. He said he was 
going to sit on the Tribunal of the Holy Office.' < I 
presume, Father, your august Office does not occupy 
much of your time ?' * Yes,' answered he, < much. I sit 
on the Tribunal three or four days every week/ 

f I had thought, for some days, of putting Dellon's 
book into the Inquisitor's hands j for if I could get him 
to advert to the facts stated in that book, I should be able 



i6o cfjttetfen T&tmvt\)!& 



to learn, by comparison, the exact state of the Inquisition 
at the present time. In the evening he came in, as 
usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some 
conversation I took the pen in my hand to write a few 
notes in my Journal ; and, as if to amuse him, while I 
was writing, I took up Dellon's book, which was lying 
with some others on the table, and handing it across to 
him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in 
the French Language, which he understood well. e Re- 
lation de l'lnquisition de Goa,' pronounced he, with a 
slow, articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and 
began to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded 
far, before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. 
He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then 
to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the 
beginning, as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil 
He then composed himself to read, while I continued to 
write. He turned over the pages with rapidity, and when 
he came to a certain place, he exclaimed, in the broad 
Italian accent, 6 Mendacium, Mendacium.' I requested 
he would mark those passages which were untrue, and 
we should discuss them afterwards, for that I had other 
books on the subject. e Other books/ said he, and he 
looked with an inquiring eye on those on the table. He 
continued reading till it was time to retire to rest and then 
begged to take the book with him. 

( It was on this night that a circumstance happened 
which caused my first alarm at Goa. My servants slept 
every night at my chamber door, in the long gallery which 
is common to all the apartments, and not far distant 
from the servants of the convent. About midnight I was 



waked by loud shrieks and expressions of terror, from 
some person in the gallery. In the first moment of 
surprize I concluded it must be the Alguazib of the Holy 
Office, seizing my servants to carry them to the Inquisi- 
tion. Bat, on going out, I saw my own servants 
standing at the door, and the person who had caused the 
alarm (a boy of about fourteen} at a little distance, 
surrounded by some of the Priests, who had come out of 
their cells on hearing the noise. The boy said he 
had seen a spectre, and it was a considerable time before 
the agitations of his body and voice subsided.— Next 
morning at breakfast the Inquisitor apologised for the 
disturbance, and said the boy's alarm proceeded from 
a 6 phantasma animi,' a phantasm of the imagination/ 

< After breakfast we resumed the subject of the 
Inquisition. The Inquisitor admitted that Dellon's 
descriptions of the dungeons, of the torture, of the mode 
of trial, and of the Auto da Fe were, in general, just; 
but he said the writer judged untruly of the motives of 
the Inquisitors, and very uncharitably of the character of 
the Holy Church; and I admitted that, under the pressure 
of his peculiar suffering, this might possibly be -the case, 
The Inquisitor was now anxious to know to what extent 
Delion's book had been circulated in Europe. I told 
him that Picart had published to the world extracts from 
it, in his celebrated work called < Religious Ceremonies/ 
together with plates of the system of torture and 
burnings at the Auto da Fe. I added that it was now 
generally believed in Europe that these enormities no 
longer existed, and that the Inquisition itself had been 
totally suppressed.; but that I was concerned to find 

M 



Christian Kesearc&ea 



that this was not the case. He now began a grave 
narration to shew that the Inquisition had undergone a 
change in some respects, and that its terrors were 
mitigated.* 



* The following were the passages in Mr. Dellon's narrative, 
to which I wished particularly to draw the attention of the 
Inquisitor.— Mr. D. had been thrown into the Inquisition 
at Goa and confined in a dungeon, ten feet square, where he 
remained upwards of two years, without seeing any person, but 
the gaoler who brought him his victuals, except when he was 
brought to his trial, expecting daily to be brought to the stake. 
His alleged crime was, charging the Inquisition with cruelty, 
in a conversation he had with a Priest at Daman, a Portuguese 
town in another part of India. 

" During the months of November and December, I heard, 
every morning, the shrieks of the unfortunate victims, who 
were undergoing the Question. I remembered to have heard, 
before I was cast into prison, that the Auto da Fe was gene- 
rally celebrated on the first Sunday in Advent, because on 
that day is read in the Churches that part of the Gospel m 
which mention is made of the last judgment; and the 
Inquisitors pretend by this ceremony to exhibit a lively emblem 
of that awful event, I was likewise convinced that there 
were a great number of prisoners, besides myself ; the pro- 
found silence, which reigned within the walls of the building, 
having enabled me to count the number of doors which were 
opened at the hours of meals.— However, the first and second 
Sundays of Advent passed by, without my hearing of any thing, 
and I prepared to undergo another year of melancholy capti- 
vity, when I was aroused from my despair on the 11th of 
January, by the noise of the guards removing the bars from 
the door of my prison. The Alcaide presented me with a ha- 



i 



6 I had already discovered, from written or printed 
documents, that the Inquisition of Goa was suppressed 
by Royal Edict in the year 1775, and established 



bit, which he ordered me to put on, and to make myself ready to 
attend him when he should come again. Thus saying, he 
left a lighted lamp in my dungeon.— The guards returned, 
about two o'clock in the morning, and led me out into a lon- 
gallery, where I found a number of the companions of my 
fate, drawn up in a rank against a wall : I placed myself among 
the rest, and several more soon joined the melancholy band, 
The profound silence and stillness caused them to resemble 
statues more than the animated bodies of human creatures.' 
The women, who were clothed in a similar manner, were placed 
in a neighbouring gallery, where we could not see them j but 
I remarked that a number of persons stood by themselves at 
some distance, attended by others, who wore long black dresses, 
and who walked backwards and forwards occasionally. I did 
not then know who these were ; but I was afterwards inform- 
ed that the former were the victims who were condemned to 
be burned, and the others were their confessors. 

" After we were all ranged against the wall of this gallery, 
we received each a large wax taper. They then brought us a 
number of dresses made of yellow cloth, with the cross of St. 
Andrew painted before and behind. This is called the San 
Benito. The relapsed heretics wear another species of robe, 
called the Samarra, the ground of which is grey. The por- 
trait of the sufferer is painted upon it, placed upon burning 
torches with names and demons all round.— Caps were then 
produced called Car roc has ; made of pasteboard, pointed like 
sugar loaves, all covered over with devils, and flames of fire. 

"The great bell of the Cathedral began to ring a little 
before sun-rise, which served as a signal to warn the people of 
M 2 



1 64 Cljrfettan m&mt\)t$. 



again in 1779. The Franciscan Father before men- 
tioned witnessed the annual Auto da Fe, from 1770, 
to 1775. " It was the humanity, and tender mercy of 



Goa, to come and behold the august ceremony of the Auto da 
Fe j and then they made us proceed from the gallery one by one. 
I remarked, as we passed into the great hall, that the Inquisi- 
tor was sitting at the door with his secretary by him, and that 
he delivered every prisoner into the hands of a particular per- 
son, who is to be his guard to the place of burning. These 
persons are called Parrains, or Godfathers. My Godtather was 
the commander of a ship. I went forth with him, and as soon 
as we were in the street, I saw that the procession was com- 
menced by the Dominican Friars j who have this honour, be- 
cause St. Dominic founded the Inquisition. These are followed 
by the prisoners who walked one after the other, each having 
his Godfather by his side, and a lighted taper in his hand. The 
least guilty go foremost ; and as I did not pass for one of them, 
there were many who took precedence of me. The women 
were mixed promiscuously with the m^n. We all walked 
barefoot, and the sharp stones of the streets of Goa wounded 
my tender feet, and caused the blood to stream : for they made 
us march through the chief streets of the city : and we were 
regarded every where by an innumerable crowd of people, 
who had assembled from all parts of India to behold this spec- 
tacle ; for the Inquisition takes c re to announce it long before, 
in the most remote parishes. At length we arrived at the 
Church of St. Francis, which was, for this time, destined for 
the celebration of the Act of Faith. On one side of the Altar, 
was the Grand Inquisitor and. his Counsellors j and on the other, 
the Viceroy of Goa and his Court. All the prisoners are seated 
to hear a Sermon. I observed that those prisoners who wore 
the horrible Carrochas came in last in the procession. One of 



a good King," said tlie old Father, « which abolished 
the Inquisition." But immediately on his death, the 
power of the Priests acquired the ascendant, under the 
Queen Dowager, and the Tribunal was re-established, 
after a bloodless interval of five years. It has continued 



the Augustin Monks ascended the pulpit, and preached for 
a quarter of an hour. The sermon being concluded, two 
readers went up to the pulpit, one after the other, and read 
the sentences of the prisoners. My joy was extreme when I 
heard that my sentence was not to be burnt but to be a galley- 
slave for five years.— After the sentences were read, they sum- 
moned forth those miserable victims who were destined to be 
immolated by the Holy Inquisition. The images of the here- 
tics who had died in prison were brought up at the same time, 
their bones being contained in small chests, covered with flames 
and demons.— An officer of the secular tribunal now came 
forward, and seized these unhappy people, after they had 
each received a slight blow upon the breast from the Alcalde, 
to intimate that they were abandoned. They were then led 
away to the bank of the river, where the Vice-Roy and his 
Court were assembled, and were the faggots had been prepared 
the preceding day. — As soon as they arrive at this place, the 
condemned persons are asked in what religion they chuse to 
die; and the moment they have replied to this question, the 
executioner seizes them, and binds them to a stake in the 
midst of the faggots. The day after the execution, the por- 
traits of the dead are carried to the Church of the Dominicans. 
The heads only are represented, (which are generally very 
accurately drawn ; for the Inquisition keeps excellent limners 
for the purpose,) surrounded by flames and demons j and 
underneath is the name and crime of the person who has been 
burned." Relation de V Inquisition de Go a, chap. XXIV. 



m christian Keseardjes 



in operation ever since. It was restored in 1779, subject 
to certain restrictions, the chief of which are the two 
following, " That a greater number of witnesses should be 
required to convict a criminal than were before necessary 
and that the Auto da Fe should not be held publicly as 
before 3 but that the sentences of the Tribunal should be 
executed privately, within the walls of the Inquisition/ 

< Iii this particular, the constitution of the new Inquisi- 
tion is more reprehensible than that of the old one ; for, 
as the old Father expressed it, £ Nunc sigillum uon reve- 
latlnquisitio.'— Formerly the friends of those unfortunate 
persons who were thrown into its prison, had the melan- 
choly satisfaction of seeing them once a year walking in 
the procession of the Auto da Fe ; or if they were con- 
demned to die, they witnessed their death, and mourned 
for the dead. But now they have no means of learning 
for years whether they be dead or alive. The policy of 
this new mode of concealment appears to be this, to pre- 
serve the power, of the Inquisition, and at the same time 
to lessen the public odium of its proceedings, in the pre- 
sence of British dominion and civilization. I asked the 
Father his opinion concerning the nature and frequency 
of the punishments within the walls. He said he pos- 
sessed no certain means of giving a satisfactory answer ; 
that every thing transacted there was declared to be 
* sacrum et secreturn.' But this he knew to be true, that 
there were constantly captives in the dungeons; that 
some of them are liberated after long confinement, but 
that they never speak afterwards of what passed within 
the place. He added that, of all the persons he had 
known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who 



did not carry about with him what might be called, < the 
mark of the Inquisition;' that is to say, who did not 
shew in the solemnity of his countenance, or in his 
peculiar demeanor, or his terror of the Priests, that he 
had been in that dreadful place. 

< The chief argument of the Inquisitor to prove the 
melioration of the Inquisition was the superior humanity 
of the Inquisitors. I remarked that I did not doubt the 
humanity of the existing officers ; but what availed huma- 
nity in an Inquisitor? he must pronounce sentence 
according to the Laws of the Tribunal, which are notori- 
ous enough; and a relapsed Heretic must be burned in the 
flames, or confined for life in a dungeon, whether the 
Inquisitor be humane or not. < But if,' said I, c you 
would satisfy my mind completely on this subject, shew 
me the Inquisition.' He said it was not permitted to any 
person to see the Inquisition. I observed that mine might 
be considered as a peculiar case ; that the character of 
the Inquisition, and the expediency of its longer conti- 
nuance had been called in question ; that I had myself 
written on the civilization of India, and might possibly 
publish something more upon that subject, and that it 
could not be expected that I should pass over the Inqui- 
sition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceed- 
ings ; at the same time I should not wish to state a single 
fact without his authority, or at least his admission of its 
truth. I added that he himself had been pleased to com- 
municate with me very fully on the subject, and that in 
all our discussions we had both been actuated, I hoped, 
by a good purpose. The countenance of the Inquisitor 
evidently altered on receiving this intimation, nor did it 



ever after wholly regain its wonted frankness and placi- 
dity. After some hesitation, however, he said he would 
take me with him to the Inquisition the next day. — I 
was a good deal surprized at this acquiescence of the 
Inquisitor, but I did not know what was in his mind.' 



' Goa : Augustinian Convent, 28th January, 1808. 
i When I left the Forts to come up to the Inquisition 
Colonel Adams desired me to write to him ; and he added 
half-way between jest and earnest, " If I do not hear from 
" you in three days, I shall march down the 78th and 
u storm the Inquisition." This I promised to do. But, 
having been so well entertained by the Inquisitor, I for- 
got my promise. Accordingly, on the day before yester- 
day, I was surprised by a visit from Major Braamcamp 
Aid~de-Camp to His Excellency the Vice-Roy, bearing 
a letter from Colonel Adams, and a message from the 
Vice-Roy, proposing that I should return every evening 
and sleep at the Forts, on account of the unhealihiness of 
Goa. 

< This morning after breakfast my host went to dress 
for the Holy Office, and soon returned in his inquisitoria . 
robes. He said he would go half an hour before the 
usual time for the purpose of shewing me the Inquisition. 
I thought that his countenance was more severe than 
usual; and that his attendants were not so civil as 
before. The truth was, the midnight scene was still on 
my mind. The Inquisition is about a quarter of a mile 
distant from the convent, and we proceeded thither in our 



169 



Manjeels* On our arrival at the place, the Inquisitor 
said to me, as we were ascending the steps of the outer 
stair, that he hoped I should he satisfied with a transient 
view of the Inquisition, and that I would retire whenever 
he should desire it. I took this as a good omen, and 
followed my conductor with tolerable confidence. 

' He led me first to the Great Hall of the Inquisition. 
We were met at the door by a number of well-dressed 
persons, who, I afterwards understood, were the familiars, 
and attendants of the Holy Office. They bowed very 
low to the Inquisitor, and looked with surprise at me. 
The Great Hall is the place in which the prisoners are 
marshalled for the procession of the Auto da Fe. At the 
procession described by Dellon, in which he himself 
walked barefoot, clothed with the painted garment, there 
were upwards of one hundred and fifty prisoners. I 
traversed this hall for some time, with a slow step, reflect- 
ing on its former scenes, the Inquisitor walking by my 
side, in silence. I thought of the fate of the multitude 
of my fellow-creatures who had passed through this 
place, condemned by a tribunal of their fellow-sinners, 
their bodies devoted to the flames, and their souls to per- 
dition. And I could not help saying to him, e Would 
not the Holy Church wish, in her mercy, to have those 



* The Manjeel is a kind of Palankeen common at Goa. 
It is merely a sea cot suspended from a bamboo, which is 
borne on the heads of four men. Sometimes a footman runs 
before, having a staff in his hand, to which are attached little 
bells or rings, which he jingles as he runs, keeping time with 
the motion of the bearers. 



1 70 Cf)risttan laeseatclje* 



souls back again, that she might allow them a little 
further probation?' The Inquisitor answered nothing, 
but beckoned me to go with him to a door at one end of 
the hall. By this door he conducted me to some small 
rooms, and thence to the spacious apartments of the chief 
Inquisitor. Having surveyed these he brought me back 
again to the Great Hall; and I thought he seemed now 
desirous that I should depart. < Now, Father/ said I, 
6 lead me to the dungeons below .5 I want to see the 
captives.'— c No,' said he, i that cannot be/— -I now be- 
gan to suspect that it had been in the mind of the In- 
quisitor, from the beginning, to shew me only a certain 
part of the Inquisition, in the hope of satisfying my 
Inquiries in a general way. I urged him with earnest- 
ness, but he steadily resisted, and seemed to be offended,, 
or rather agitated by my importunity. I intimated to 
him plainly, that the only way to do justice to his own 
assertions and arguments, regarding the .present state of 
the Inquisition, was to shew me the prisons and the 
captives. I should then describe only what I saw; but 
now the subject was left in awful obscurity.— i Lead me 
down,' said I, c to the inner building and let me pass 
through the two hundred dungeons, ten feet square, 
described by your former captives. Let me count the 
number of your present captives, and converse with them. 
I want to see if there be any subjects of the British 
Government, to whom we owe protection. I want to ask 
how long they have been here, how long it is since they 
beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever expect 
to see it again. Shew me the Chamber of Torture; and 
declare what modes of execution, or of punishment, are 



How practised within the walls of the Inquisition, in lieu 
of the public Auto da Fe. If, after all that has passed, 
Father, you resist this reasonable request, I shall be 
justified in believing, that you are afraid of exposing 
the real state of the Inquisition in India/ To these 
observations the Inquisitor made no reply ; but seemed 
impatient that I should withdraw. 6 My good Father/ 
said I, c I am about to take my leave of you, and to 
thank you for your hospitable attentions, (it had been 
before understood that I should take my final leave at the 
door of the Inquisition, after having seen the interior,) 
and I wish always to preserve on my mini a favourable 
sentiment of your kindness and candour. You cannot, 
you say, shew me the captives and the dungeons ; be pleased 
then merely to answer this question ; for I shall believe your 
word:— How many prisoners are there now below, in the 
cells of the Inquisition ?' The Inquisitor replied, c That is 
a question which I cannot answer.' On his pronouncing 
these words, I retired hastily towards the door, and 
wished him farewell. We shook bands with as much 
cordiality as we could at the moment assume ; and both 
of us, I believe, were sorry that our parting took place 
with a clouded countenance. 

' From the Inquisition I went to the place of burning 
in the Camp Santo Lazaro, on the river side, where the 
victims were brought to the stake at the Auto da Fe. 
It is close to the Palace, that the Vice-Roy and his 
Court may witness the execution ; for it has ever been 
the policy of the Inquisition to make these spiritual 
executions appear to be the executions of the State. 
An old Priest accompanied me, who pointed out the 



172 eJ)tfettan Vktrnxtytz, 



place, and described the scene. As I passed over this 
melancholy plain, I thought on the difference between 
the pure and benign doctrine, which was first preached 
to India in the Apostolic age, and that bloody code, 
which, after a long night of darkness, was announced 
to it under the same name ! And 1 pondered on the 
mysterious dispensation, which permitted the ministers 
of the Inquisition, with their racks and flames, to visit 
these lands, before the heralds of the Gospel of Peace. 
But the most painful reflection was, that this tribunal 
should yet exist, unawed by the vicinity of British hu- 
manity and dominion. I was not satisfied with what 
I had seen or said at the Inquisition, and I determined 
to go back again. The Inquisitors were now sitting on 
the tribunal, and I had some excuse for returning ; for 
I was to receive from the chief Inquisitor a letter, which 
he said he would give me, before I left the place, for 
the British Resident in Travancore,* being an answer 
to a letter from that officer. 

< When I arrived at the Inquisition, and had ascended 
the outer stairs, the door-keepers surveyed me doubt- 
ingly, but suffered me to pass, supposing that I had 
returned by permission and appointment of the Inqui- 
sitor. I entered the Great Hall, and went up directly 
towards the tribunal of the Inquisition, described by 
Dellon, in which is the lofty Crucifix. I sat down on a 
form, and wrote some notes ; and then desired one of 
the attendants to carry in my name to the Inquisitor 
As I walked up the Hall, I saw a poor woman sitting by 



* Colonel Macaulay . who is now in England. 



Cl;e Kontfel) C&rfetfansi. 1 73 



herself, on a bench by the wall, apparently in a discon- 
solate state of mind. She clasped her hands as I passed, 
and gave me a look expressive of her distress. This 
sight chilled my spirits. The familiars told me she was 
waiting there to be called up before the tribunal of the 
Inquisition. Whiie I was asking questions concerning 
her crime, the second Inquisitor came out in evident 
trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion; 
when I informed him I had come back for the letter 
from the chief Inquisitor. He said it should be sent 
after me to Goa; and he conducted me with a quick 
step towards the door. As we passed the poor woman 
I pointed to her, and said to him with some emphasis, 
' Behold, Father, another victim of the holy Inquisition !' 
He answered nothing. When we arrived at the head of 
the great stair, he bowed, and I took my last leave of 
Josephus a Doloribus, without uttering a word/ 

It will be well understood for what purpose 
the foregoing particulars concerning the Inqui- 
sition at Goa, are rehearsed in the ears of the 
British nation. " The Romans/' says Montes- 
quieu, " deserve well of human nature, for 
* x making it an article in their treaty with the 
Carthaginians, that they should abstain from 
" sacrificing their children to their Gods." 
It has been observed by respectable writers, 
that the English nation ought to imitate this 
example, and endeavour to induce her allies " to 



1 74 eijttettan Reseat*!^* 

abolish the human sacrifices of " the Inquisi- 
tion ;" and a c ensure has been passed on our 
Government for its indifference to this subject.* 
The indifference to the Inquisition is attribut- 
able, we believe, to the same cause which has 
produced an indifference to the religious princi- 
ples which first organized the Inquisition. The 
mighty despot, who suppressed the Inquisition, 
in Spain, was not swayed probably by very 
powerful motives of humanity ; but viewed with 
jealousy a tribunal, which usurped an indepen- 
dent dominion ; and he put it down, on the 
same principle that he put down the Popedom, 
that he might remain Pontiff and Grand Inqui- 
sitor himself. And so he will remain for a time, 
till the purposes of Providence shall have been 
accomplished by him. But are we to look on in 
silence, and toexpect that further meliorations in 
human society are to be effected by despotism, or 
by great revolutions ? " If," say the same authors, 
c< while the Inquisition is destroyed in Europe 
^ by the power of despotism, we could enter- 
" tain the hope, and it is not too much to enter- 
" tain such ahope, that thepowerof libertyisabout 
" to destroy it in America ; we might, even amid 



* ffln.Rev, No. XXXII. p. 44Q. 



Ci)£ Eomfel) Christians* 175 



:i the gloom that surrounds us, congratulate our 
' fellow-creatures on one of the most remarkable 
tfi periods in the history of the progress of human 
«' society, the final erasure of the Inquisition 
Cl from the face of the earth"* It will indeed be 
an important and happy day to the earth, when 
this final erasure shall take place ; but the period 
of such an event is nearer, we apprehend, in 
Europe and America, than it is in Asia; and its 
termination in Asia depends as much on Great 
Britain as on Portugal, And shall not Great 
Britain do her part to hasten this desirable time ? 
Do we wait, as if to see whether the power of 
Infidelity will abolish the other Inquisitions of 
the earth? Shall not we, in the mean while, 
attempt to do something, on Christian princi - 
ples, for the honour of God and of humanity ? 
Do we dread even to express a sentiment on the 
subject in our legislative Assemblies, or to notice 
it in our Treaties? It is surely our duty to de- 
clare our wishes, at least, for the abolition of 
these inhuman tribunals, (since we take an ac- 
tive part in promoting the welfare of other 
nations,) and to deliver our testimony against 
them in the presence of Europe. 

This case is not unlike that of the Immolation 



* Ibid, p, 429, 



1 76 eijtfettan Hesearctjes 



of Females in Bengal : with this aggravation in 
regard to that atrocity, that the rite is perpetrat- 
ed in our oxvn territories. Our humanity in Eng- 
land revolts at the occasional description of the 
enormity ; but the matter comes not to our own 
business and bosoms, and we fail even to insi- 
nuate our disapprobation of the deed. It may be 
concluded then, that while we remain silent and 
unmoved spectators of the flames of the Widow's 
Pile, there is no hope that we shall be justly 
affected by the reported horrors of the Inqui- 
sition. 



TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES 
FOR THE ROMISH CHRISTIANS. 

The principal languages spoken by the Romish 
Christians in India are these four : the Tamul, 
the Malabar, the Ceylonese, and the Portuguese. 
We have already had occasion to notice the 
three first. The Tamul version has been long 
since completed by the Protestant Missionaries ; 
• and the Malabar and the Ceylonese are in course 
of publication —It is now proper to explain 



€i)e iaomfef) CJ)rfettans, 177 

that excellent effects may be expected from the 
diffusion of the Portuguese Scriptures in India- 
The Portuguese Language prevails wherever 
there are, or have been, settlements of that nation. 
Their descendants people the coasts from the 
vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope to the 
Sea of China- beginning from Sofala, Moca- 
ranga, Mosambique, (where there is a Bishop,) 
Zinzebar, and Melinda, (where there are 
many churches,) on the east of Africa; and 
extending round by Babelmandel, Diu, Surar, 
Daman, Bombay, Goa, Calicut, Cochin, Angen- 
go, Tutecorin, Negapatam, Jaffnapatam, Co- 
lumbo, Point de Galle, Tranquebar, Tan- 
jore, Tritchinopoly, Porto-Novo, Pondicherry, 
Sadras, Madras, Masulipatam, Calcutta, Chin- 
surah, Bandel, Chittagong, Macao and Canton; 
and almost all the ^islands of the Malayan Archil 
vpelago, which were first conquered by the Por- 
tuguese. The greater part of the Portuguese 
in India are now subjects of the British Em- 
pire. The Author visited most of the places 
above enumerated; and in many of them he 
could not hear of a single copy of the Portu- 
guese Scriptures. There is a Portuguese Press 
at Tranquebar, and another at Vepery near 
Madras; and pecuniary aid only is wanted from 
Europe to multiply copies, and to circulate them 

N 



178 etjrtsttan mmatdjes 

round the coasts of Asia. The Portuguese Lan- 
guage is certainly a most favourable medium for 
diffusing the true religion in the maritime pro- 
vinces of the East. 



THE COLLEGES AT GOA. 

Goa will probably remain the theological 
school to a great part of India, for a long period 
to come. It is of vast importance to the inte- 
rests of Christianity in the East, that this 
source of instruction should be purified. The 
appointed instrument for affecting this, is the 
Bible. This is " the salt which must be thrown 
" into the fountain to heal the waters." 2 Kings 
ii. 21. There are upwards of three thousand 
Priests belonging to Goa, who are resident at 
the place, or stationed with their cures at a 
distance. Let us send the Holy Scriptures to 
illuminate the Priests of Goa. It was dis- 
tinctly expressed to the Author, by several 
authorities, that they will gladly receive copies 
of the Latin and Portuguese Vulgate Bible 
from the hands of the English nation. 



respecting tfje Persians, 



179 



THE PERSIANS. 

The Christian Religion flourished very gene- 
rally in Persia till about a. d. 651; when, the 
Persians being subdued by the Saracens, Maho* 
medanism gradually acquired the predominance. 
Constantine the Great, addressed a letter to 
Sapor, King of Persia, which is preserved to this 
day, (in Eusebius) recommending the Christian 
Churches in his dominions, to his protection; 
and a Bishop from Persia was present at the 
Council of Nice in a. d. 325. It appears also 
that there was a translation of some portion of 
the Scriptures into the Persian Language at that 
period ; for we are informed by Chrysostom that, 
" the Persians, having translated the doctrines 
of the Gospel into their own tongue, had learned, 
though barbarians, the true philosophy and 
it is stated by another author in the following 
century, « That the Hebrew writings were not 
" only translated into the Greek, but into the 
Latin, Ethiopian, Persia?!, Indian, Armenian, 
Scythian, and Sarmatian Languages."! 



* Chrysostom, Horn. II. in Jonan. 

f Theodoret, vol. iv. p. 555. We have entirely lost sight of" 
some of these versions in the obscurity of Mahomedan darkness, 

N 2 



180 CDrfettan mesearc&es 



In the beautiful homily of Chrysostom on 
Mary's Memorial, preached about a. d. 380, in 
which he enumerates those nations, who, in 
fulfilment of our Saviour's prophecy, had " spo- 
" ken of the deed of Mary for a memorial of 
« her," he mentions the Persians first, and the 
Isles of Britain last. " The Persians," says he, 
" the Indians, Scythians, Thracians, Sarmatians, 
" the race of the Moors, and the inhabitants of 
" the British Isles, celebrate a deed performed in 
" a private family in Judea by a woman that had 
« been a sinner."* He alludes to her pouring 
an alabaster box of spikenard on the head of 
Christ, thereby acknowledging him, while yet 
upon earth, as God's anointed King, and 
embalming his body, (as our Lord himself ex- 
plained it) in anticipation of his burial. Con- 



It is not even known what languages are intended by the 
Scythian, Indian, and Sarmatian. The Christian Church must 
now retrace her steps, and endeavour to recover a knowledge 
which she has lost. 

* Atoa «i» Tltpcu xai A txvbu koci Greens kcci 2«v?o- 
km rw Muv^m yw **> « Bg£T*»x*« Nu<rot; S o lX o WT£f , 
To ev ywptvov *a9g«, w ywawoj wnoytvprnu 

The argument of Chrysostom is this, that nothing could 
have given so permanent a celebrity to so private an occurrence, 
but the Divine Word of Him who foretold it. 



respecting flje IPerstaus* isi 

cerning which act of faith and love our Sa- 
viour uttered the following prophetic declara- 
tion: " Verily, I say unto you, Wheresoever 
" this Gospel shall be preached throughout the 
" whole world, this also that she hath done 
" shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." 
" Mark xiv. 9-— The Isles of Britain who were 
last in the above enumeration, are now Xhtjirst 
to restore this memorial to the Persians as well 
as to other Mahomedan nations, who were to 
lose it generally, during the great prophetic 
period of 1260 years. 

A version of the four Gospels and of the 
Pentateuch in the Persian Language of a former 
age remains to this day. It is a faithful trans- 
lation, and seems to have been made immediately 
from the Syriac; # but the dialect and orthogra- 
phy are so ancient as to be scarcely intelligible 
even at Ispahan. The Romish Church has had 
several Missions in the kingdom of Persia for 
some centuries past. The Augustinian Mission 
from Goa commenced in the year \60% " and 
" was permitted by Sultan Murad to build con- 
" vents in all parts of the Empire."f But they 
w T ent into Persia, as into other countries, not 



* This is the version of the Polyglot, 
t Fabricii Lux Evang. p. 63g. 



1 82 c&rfetfim Eeseatrijes 

with the design of instructing men in the holy 
Scriptures, but of teaching them the tenets and 
ceremonies of Rome. To this day, they have 
not published, under all the advantages of tolera* 
tion which they enjoyed, a translation of the 
Bible, or even of the New Testament, into the 
Persian Language. 

It is a reproach to Christians that the only 
endeavour to produce a version of the Scrip- 
tures into the language of that extensive king- 
dom should have been made by the Persians 
themselves. The representatives of the Chris- 
tian Churches in Europe of every denomination, 
may well blush, when they read the following 
authentic relation of an attempt made by a Per- 
sian king to procure a knowledge of our reli- 
gion. 

" Towards the close of the year 1740, Nadir 
" Shah caused a translation of the four Evan- 
" Q-elists to be made into Persian. — The affair 
!* was put under the direction of Mirza Mehdee, 
?! a jnan of some learning, who, being vested 
" with proper authority for the purpose, sum- 
" moned several Armenian Bishops, and Priests, 
" together with divers Missionaries of the Ro- 
a tnish Church, and Persian Mullahs,* to meet 



* Mahomedan Priests, 



respecting tf)e pemang, 1 85 

'1 him at Ispahan. As to the tetter, the Maho- 
*\ medan Priests, they could not be gainers, 
ct since the change of religion, if any, was to 
" be in prejudice of Mahomedanism. Besides, 
" Nadir's conduct towards them had been severe, 
" to an extreme and unprecedented degree; 
" many of them, therefore, gave Mirza Mehdee 
" large bribes to excuse their absence. Among 
" the Christians summoned on this occasion, 
" only one Romish Priest, a native of Persia, 
" was a sufficient master of the language to 
" enter upon a work of so critical a nature. 
" As to the Armenian Christians, although they 
" are born subjects to Persia, and intermixed 
" with the inhabitants, yet there are very few 
*i of them who understand the language funda- 
" mentally. It was natural to expect, that 
" Mirza Mehdee, and the Persian Mullahs, 
u would be more solicitous to please Nadir, and 
" to support the credit of Mahomedanism, than 
" to divest themselves of prejudices, and be- 
4( come masters of so important a subject. 
" This translation was dressed up with all the 
« glosses which the fables of the Koran could 
<c warrant. Theirchief guide was tin ancient Arabic 
s and Persian translation. Father de Vignes, a 
t Romish Priest, was also employed in this 
H work, in which he made use of the Vulgate 



184 Cfcrtetfan mmatcijes 



u edition. They were but six months in 
" completing this translation, and transcribing 
" several fair copies of it. 

" In May following, Mirza Mehdee, with 
" the Persian Mullahs, and some of the Chris- 
" tian Priests, set out from Ispahan for the Per- 
" sian Court, which was then held in encamp- 
" ment near Teheran. Nadir received them 
" with some marks of civility, and had a cur- 
" sory view of the performance. Some part of it 
" was read to him ; on which occasion he made 
" several ludicrous remarks on the mysterious 
" parts of the Christian Religion; at the same 
" time he laughed at the Jews, and turned Ma- 
" homed and AH equally into ridicule." — And 
after some expressions of levity, intimating 
that he could himself make a better religion 
than any that had yet been produced, " he 
" dismissed these churchmen and translators 
" with some small presents, not equal in value 
" to the expense of the journey."* 

This version of the Gospels, prepared by 
command of Nadir Shah, is probably the same 
with that which is sometimes found in the hands 
of the Armenian Priests in India. A copy was 
lately shewn to an Oriental scholar in Bengal, f 



* Hanway's Travels. f Rev. H. Martyn. 



respecting tfje Persians. i 8 5 

who observed, * that if this was the same, he 
" did not wonder at Nadir's contempt of it." 

The number of natives, already professing 
Christianity in Persia, and who are prepared to 
receive a translation of the Scriptures, is very 
considerable. They consist of four or five 
classes, viz. the Georgian, the Armenian, the 
Nestorian, the Jacobite, and the Romish Chris- 
tians. The Georgians have the Bible in the 
Georgian Language, which was printed at Mos- 
cow in 1743; but the language is not so gene- 
rally cultivated among the higher ranks as 
the Persian. It probably bears the same relation 
to the Persian, which the Welch does to 
the English. The Armenians have a version of 
the Bible in their own proper tongue, but the 
copies are few in number. The Nestorian and 
Jacobite Christians use the Syriac Bible : but it 
is yet more rare than the Armenian. There are, 
besides, multitudes of Jezvs in Persia, who, as 
well as these different classes of Christians, com- 
monly speak the vernacular language of the 
country. 

The Persian Language is known far beyond 
the limits of Persia proper. It is spoken at all 
the Mussulman Courts in India, and is the usual 
language of judicial proceedings under the Bri- 
tish Government in Hindostan. It has been 
called " the great Eastern language of cdrres- 



186 christian Eesearcftes; 

il pondence and state affairs ;"* and is to be 
estimated as next in importance to the Arabic 
and Chinese, in regard to the extent of territory 
through which it is spoken ; it being generally 
understood from Calcutta to Damascus. 

Here then is a language, spoken over nearly 
one quarter of the globe, the proper tongue of 
a great kingdom, in which an attempt has 
already been made by royal authority to obtain 
a translation of the Christian Scriptures; and 
where there are, at a low computation, two hun- 
dred thousand Christians ready to receive them. 
Many of the Persians themselves would read the 
Bible with avidity, if presented to them in an 
inviting form. The cause of the little jealousy 
concerning Christianity in Persia, compared 
with that which is found in other Mahomedan 
States, is to be ascribed to these two circum- 
stances ; first, That Christianity has always 
existed in Persia : the Christian natives forming 
a considerable part of the population ; and se- 
condly, That the Persians themselves profess 
so lax a system of Islamism that they have been 
accounted by some Mussulmans a kind of 
heretics. 

It will form an epoch in the history of Persia, 



* See Richardson's dissertation on the Persian Language. 



respecting tlje Persians i sr 

when a version of the Old and New Testaments 
shall begin to be known generally in that coun- 
try. But the narrative of Nadir Shah's attempt 
sufficiently proves that no ordinary scholar is 
qualified to undertake it. The author of such a 
translation must be a perfect master of the 
Arabic Language, the mother of the Persic, 
and familiar with the popular and classical Per- 
sian. He must, moreover, have access to the 
Scriptures in their original tongues. Such a 
person, we think, has been found in sabat of 
Arabia, who is accounted by competent judges, 
" to be the first Arabic scholar of the age."* He 
has been employed for nearly four year! past in 
translating the Scriptures into the Persian and 
Arabic Languages, in conjunction with Mirza 
Fitrut of Lucknow, and other learned natives. 
Mirza is himself a Persian by descent, and a 
man of liberal learning among his countrymen. 
He visited Englan^ some years ago, and was 
afterwards appoin/ed a Persian teacher, and a 
translator of the 7 Scriptures in the College of 
Fort- William. • These versions by Sabat and 
Mirza, are conducted under the superintendance 
of the Rev. Henry Martyn, who is himself an 

* See Report of Translations by Rev. Henry Martyn, here, 
after quoted. 



1 88 Christian Eesearc&ea 

Arabic and Persian scholar, and skilled in the 
original tongues of the Sacred Scriptures. He 
is a chaplain to the Honourable the East India 
Company, and is now stationed at Cawnpore in 
Bengal, where his learned coadjutors also reside. 
The Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, 
translated by Sabatin to the Persian Language, 
have already been printed: and 800 copies are 
stated in the last Report, dated May, 1810, to 
have been deposited in the Bibliotheca 
Biblica, at Calcutta, for sale. 



THE ARABIANS. 

Arabia was the country in which St. Paul 
first opened his heavenly ministry. " When it 
pleased God," saith that Apostle, « who called 
me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that 
I might preach him among the heathen ; im- 
mediately I conferred not with flesh and blood ; 
neither went I up to Jerusalem, but I went 
into Arabia." Gal. i. 17- Christianity flou- 
rished very extensively in Arabia, during the 
first centuries. History informs us, that " the 



respecting tDe 3rabtan& 1 39 

disciples of Christ had filled its provinces with 
the Churches of God ;"* and frequent mention 
is made, in the early monuments, of the Bishops 
of Arabia.f This early influence of the Gospel 
in that region might be expected; for Arabia 
adjoins Palestine; and the climate of the coun- 
try, and the manners and customs of the people, 
are nearly the same.J 

There are some circumstances which remark- 
ably distinguish Arabia; a recollection of which 
in connexion with others, ought now to draw 
our attention to it. Arabia and the neighbouring 
regions were inhabited by the first generations of 
men. There it pleased the Creator first to reveal 
himself to his creatures; and there the Son of 
God assumed the human nature. In Arabia, the 
faculties of the human mind attain to as high 
a degree of strength and vigour, even at this 



iir^ua-ut. Procopious Ga%. Es. XI. 14. 

t See them enumerated in Beveridge's Canones Conciliorum, 
The Bishop of Busorah was present at the Council of An- 
tiOch in a. d. 26g, 

X OpOgWf & o>TCt< slag WflHO* vxog KX> KfUTOVS ^vy^ 

Being neighbours of the Jews, it was likely that they 
should first receive the Gospel. Proc r uli supra. 



day,* as in any other country in the world ; 
and the symmetry and beauty of the human 
person in Arabia are not surpassed by any other' 
portion of the human race.f 



* See Letter from the Rev. Henry Martyn, concerning 
Sabat, quoted in "The Star in the East," p. 218, " At in- 
tervals I read Persian Poetry with Mirza, and the Koran 
with Sabat. These Orientals, with whom I translate the 
Scriptures, require me to point out the connexion between 
every two sentences, which is often more than I can do. It 
is curious how accurately they observe all the rules of writing, 
Sabat, though a real Christian has not lost a jot of his Arabian 
notions of superiority. He looks upon Europeans as mush- 
rooms j and seems to regard my pretensions to any learning, 
as we should regard those of a savage or an ape." — N. B. Mr. 
Martyn was Senior Wrangler, or first Mathematician of his 
year, at Cambridge, in 1801 ; and he had now been two 
years in society with Sabat. Of course be used these ex- 
pressions concerning Sabat in rather a vein of pleasantry j but 
they will intimate that he respected the intellect and acquire- 
ments of the Arabian. 

f An intelligent Arabian, who had seen the English in 
India, observed to the Author, that he thought the minds 
©f the English far superior to their persons. It seemed to 
him, that there was nothing striking or noble in the English 
countenance, compared with the dignity and beauty of the 
Arabians j that the faces were in general flat and torpid, and 
the eyes without fire. The Author informed him, that the 
English were composed of different nations, and most of these 
from cold and northern climates ; that hence there was a 
great diversity in their appearance,, some being of very ordinary 



respecting tt)e Persians. j g i 

Arabia is also remarkable on another account 
It was the theatre of the grand defection from 
Christianity, by the Mahomedan delusion, 
which was to extend to " a third part of men." 
This predicted apostacy was to be effected, not 
by returning to Paganism, but by a corruption 
of Christianity : that is, by admitting some 
part of the former revelation of God, and pre- 
tending to a new revelation. The delusion 
itself is aptly compared in the prophecy con- 
cerning it to " smoke issuing from the bottom- 
less pit;" and its great extent is expressed by its 
" darkening the " sun and the air?* And since 
this defection was to be produced by a corrup- 
tion of revealed Truth, it was necessary that 
the Scriptures should be first corrupted ; for 
where the genuine Scriptures are in the hands 
of men, there is little danger of general infidel- 
ity. Accordingly, this preparative for the great 
Imposture took place in the fifth and sixth 
centuries. During that period, corrupt and 
apocryphal gospels prevailed so generally in 
Arabia, and in the neighbouring regions, that 

1 11 "•■ r% — ■ 

aspect, and others of a dignity and beauty which even an 
Arabian would admire. He smiled at this, and observed 
that it was not likely that the Deity would select so remote, 
and cold a region of his globe, for the perfection of $aan, 
* Key. iK. 2, 



192 Christian Eeseavcljes 



it is even doubtful whether Mahomed himself 
ever saw a genuine copy of the New Testament. 
It has been argued by learned men, from the 
internal evidence of his composition, that he 
did not. But now even the apocryphal gospels 
have vanished from view, by the long preva- 
lence of the Koran. 

But the duration of this delusion was to have 
a limit. " The smoke was to darken the sun 
ff and the air" only for a definite period ; namely, 
1260 years. This period is expressed in pro- 
phetic Scripture in a three-fold form of words 
to evince its certainty. 

1. " The Holy City shall they tread under 
"foot forty and two months?'* Rev. xi. 2 — 
This marks the period of the Mahomedan pow- 
er. The same expression i§ applied afterwards 
to the duration of the Papal power. The de- 
pression of the true Faith was of course to last 
the same time, as expressed in the two folio w- 
ino- sentences. 

2. " The Witnesses (for the true Faith) shall 
H prophecy a thousand txvo hundred and three- 
" score days, clothed in sackcloth."|Rev. xi. S. 



* A day for a year, 

42 months =42+30 * 1250 days 
f A day for a year $ 12$0 days . 



= 1200 year?. 
= 1260 years. 



respecting tf>e 3tabtan& 1 9s 

% " The Woman or (Church of Christ) fled 
<f into the wilderness, and was nourished for a 
" time, times and half a time."* Rev. xii. 14. 

This last expression, " a time, times and half 
" a time," is also used by the prophet Daniel, 
who foretels the same events, to mark the period 
when God shall " have accomplished to scatter 
" the powers of the holy people," and shall 
terminate his indignation against Israel Dan. 
xii. 7. 

It is very well known in the East at what 
time Mahomed appeared. Let the Mahomedan 
then be informed, that he is to count 1260 years 
from the Hejira, and then expect the fulfilment 
of a remarkable Prophecy, made by Christ, 
whom the Koran acknowledges to be " a true 
Prophet." Let him be informed explicitly that 
the reign of Mahomedanism will then have an 
end. And if he be unwilling to believe this, ask 
him if he does not already perceive the decline of 
Mahomedanism. If he be ignorant of this fact, 
inform him of the history of events. Instruct 
him, that the corruption of Christianity in the 



A time, times, and half a time=a year,"* 
two years and half of a year =: forty- J2&) years, 

two months= 1260 days. ... -J 



194 CJjrfettan Beseatrijejs 

West by the Pope, was coeval with the corrup- 
tion of Christianity in the East by Mahomed ; 
that the decline of both these powers is, at this 
time, equally advanced; and that the fall of both 
is to be contemporaneous. If he be ignorant of 
the decline of Papal Rome, the Roman Catholic 
in the East will declare it to him. 

Is there any man, calling himself a Chris- 
tian, who thinks that these prophecies are du- 
bious P If it be true that God hath, at any 
time, revealed himself to man, they are most 
certain. The Author would here observe, that 
the inattention of men in general to the fulfil- 
ment of the divine predictions, does not pro- 
ceed so commonly from principles of infidelity, 
as from ignorance of facts, — pure ignorance of 
historical facts. There are men of liberal edu- 
cation in England, who are more ignorant of 
the history of the world, ancient and modern^ 
in connexion with the revelation of God, than 
some Hindoos and Arabians, whom we know in 
the East, who have not been Christians above a 
few years. Our Saviour reprehended this neg- 
lect of "the word spoken from Heaven," in 
these words : — " Ye can discern the face 
*' of the sky and of the earth, but how is it 

4 that ye cannot discern this time ?" Luke 

x#. 56. 



The Author has noticed the foregoing circum- 
stances in connexion with Arabia, to illustrate 
the importance of preparing a version of the 
Scriptures for that country, at the present era. 
But the Arabic Language hath gone forth far 
beyond the bounds of Arabia, and is known to 
almost » a third part of men" in the East. The 
Koran has consecrated it in the eyes of millions 
of men dwelling in central Asia, on the con- 
tinent of Africa, and in the isles of the Indian 
Ocean. 

A version of the whole Bible in Arabic has 
come down to us ; but it is now antiquated, like 
the Persian, both in dialect and orthography. It 
does not appear indeed that any composition in 
a living language, of a higher date than about 
five hundred years, can be of popular use, unless 
we learn it from our infancy. The language of 
our own Scriptures becomes now peculiar in 
many respects, and distinct from the popular 
speech. It is supposed, that the Arabic Trans- 
lation is upwards of a thousand years old. Had 
there been no interruption in the profession of 
Christianity in Arabia, the ancient Translation 
might possibly have sufficed: in like manner 
as the Hebrew is still understood by the Jews, 
and the Syriac by the Syrian Christians, But 
when a new religion is to be proposed to a peo- 



\g6 Christian laesearcljeg 

pie, we must use the most dignified and intelli- 
gible medium, and present it in the language 
which is in popular use. The present Arabic 
Translation in the Polyglot is perfectly intelli- 
gible to those who will study it with a lexicon; 
but we certainly cannot offer it at this time as 
conveying the meaning of Holy Scripture to 
the Land of Yemen, or Arabia the Happy. 

Soon after Sabat, the Arabian, had been con- 
verted to Christianity, the object which chiefly 
occupied his thoughts, was a translation of the 
Scriptures for his native country. He himself 
could easily read and understand the existing 
translation; for he is a learned man, and ac- 
quainted radically with every dialect of the lan- 
guage; and it was by means of that translation 
that he himself became a Christian ;* but he 
says he should be ashamed to offer the Bible 
to his countrymen in its present form; such a 



* The copy of the New Testament, which fell into the hands 
of Sabat, was one of the editions published in 1727 by "the 
Society for promoting Christian Knowledge/' revised by Salo- 
mon Negri. An investment of these Arabic Testaments was 
sent about l7S9,to the Society's Missionaries in Calcutta, who 
circulated them through different provinces. The following 
is a well-attested fact : They sent some copies to the Mahome- 
tan Priests at Delhi, « who requested that the supply might ba 
continued." See Proceedings of the Society of that period. 



mpttUw fl)e atabtans* 197 

version would neither be acceptable to the 
learned, nor intelligible to the unlearned. 

This noble Arabian has been now three years, 
or more, employed in translating the Scriptures 
into the Arabic Language, with the aid of other 
learned Asiatics, under the superintendance of 
the Rev. H. Martyn, who has himself been long 
a student of the Arabic Tongue. Mr. Martyn 
has lately stated their reasons for undertaking a 
new translation, which the Author will here 
subjoin, in deference to the learned at home, 
who may think some further explanation ne- 
cessary. 

" Of the Arabic version of the Polyglot, the 
" late Professor Carlyle, in his copy of propo- 

sals for printing a new edition of it, speaks 
" in the highest terms, and observes, that it 
if was used both by Jews and Christians as a 
u faithful and elegant representation of their 
" respective books of faith. But even sup- 
" posing that both Jews and Christians arc 
" satisfied with the translation, no one, who has 
" had an opportunity of observing the degraded 
" state of these people in the East, would ad- 
" mit them as competent judges of the Arabic. 
" The professor has adduced, in favour of the 
" version in question, the opinions of Erpenius, 
* Gabriel Sionita, and Pocock ; names of high 



1 9$ e&rfettan Besearcijes 

* consideration in Arabic learning, particularly 
" the last. It is certain, however, that such of 
" the Mahomedans as have seen this version, 
" think very differently of it. If we would 
14 invite the fastidious Mussulman to review 
" the sacred law which he supposes abrogated, 
' * let us not neglect our present opportunities ; 
" but with such an instrument as Sabat in 
" our possession, let us attempt at least, to 
" send forth the Scriptures in a style which 
" shall command respect even in Nujed and 
" Hejaz." 

Mr. Martyn adverts to the new edition of 
the Polyglot translation, now publishing in 
England, under the patronage of the Bishop 
of Durham, and highly commends the design; 
" We rejoice," writes he, " to hear that the 
old Polyglot is going forth at last in a new 
dress. It may be useful to some in Asia, as it 
was to Sabat." — And, in regard to the extent 
of country through which the Arabic is spoken, 
lie observes, that the Arabic translation is of 
more importance than one-fourth of all the 
translations now in hand. " We will begin,* 
says he, " to preach to Arabia, Syria, Persia, 
Tartary, part of India and of China, half of 
Africa, all the sea-coast of the Mediterranean, 



respecting tlje Zwibtom. 139 

and Turkey ; and one tongue shall suffice for 
them all." 

The proposal for publishing the Arabic Bible 
has already met with a very liberal patronage in 
India. It is intended to publish an edition of 
the New Testament, in a splendid form, for the 
use of the chief men in Arabia and Persia, re- 
sembling, as nearly as possible, their own beau- 
tiful writing. ' The Universities, and literary 
bodies m Europe, will, no doubt, be disposed 
to subscribe for some copies of this truly classi- 
cal Work. It is stated in the last accounts, 
dated May IS 10, that the translation of the 
New Testament was expected to be finished 
by the end of the present year, 1811. 



THE CONVERSION OF SABAT. 

The following account of the conversion of 
Sabat is extracted from the Author's Sermon, 
entitled, " The Star in the East."— 

' Thus far we have spoken of the success of the Gos- 
pel in Asia, by means of European preachers. But we 



200 Christian iaeseatrijes 



shall now exhibit to you evidence from another source, 
from a new and unexpected quarter. We are now to 
declare what has been done, independently of our exer- 
tions, and in regions were we have no labourers, and 
no access. And this I do to show you, that whether 
we assist in the work or not, it is God's will that it should 
begin. You have hitherto been contemplating the Light 
in India. We are now to announce to you that a light 
hath appeared in Arabia, and dawned as it were, on the 
Temple of Mecca itself. 

e Two Mahomedans of Arabia, persons of distinction 
in their own country, have been lately converted to the 
Christian faith. One of them has already suffered mar- 
trydom. The other is now engaged in translating the 
Scriptures, and in concerting plans for the conversion of 
his countrymen. The name of the martyr is Abdallah;* 
and the name of the other, who is now translating the 
Scriptures, is Sabat : or, as he is called since his Chris- 
tian baptism, Nathanael Sabat. Sabat resided in my 
house some time before I left India, and I had from his 
own mouth the chief part of the account which I shall 
now give to you. Some particulars I had from others. 
His conversion took place after the martyrdom of x\bdallah, 
< to whose death he was consenting ;' and he related the 
circumstances to me with many tears. 

< Abdallah and Sabat were intimate friends, and being 
young men of family in Arabia, they agreed to travel 
together, and to visit foreign countries. They were both 



* The word Abdallah is the same as Abdiel ; and signifies 
the " Servant of God." 



rejecting tije Arabians, 201 

zealous Mahomedans. Sabat is son of Ibrahim Sabat, 
a noble family of the line of Beni-Sabat who trace 
their pedigree to Mahomed. The two friends left Arabia, 
after paying their adorations at the tomb of their prophet, 
and travelled through Persia, and thence to Cabul! 
Abdallah was appointed to an office of state under Ze- 
maun Shah, King of Cabul ; and Sabat left him there, 
and proceeded on a tour through Tartary. 

< While Abdallah remained at Cabul, he was converted 
to the Christian faith by the perusal of a Bible (as is 
supposed) belonging to a Christian from Armenia, then 
residing at Cabul * In the Mahomedan states, it is 
death for a man of rank to become a Christian. Abdal- 
lah endeavoured for a time to conceal his conversion; 
but finding it no longer possible, he determined to flee 
to some of the Christian Churches near the Caspian Sea. 
He accordingly left Cabul in disguise, and had gained 
the great city of Bochara, in Tartary, when he was met 
in the streets of that city by his friend Sabat, who imme- 
diately recognised him. Sabat had heard of his conver- 
sion and flight, and was filled with indignation at his 
conduct. Abdallah knew his danger, and threw himself 
at the feet of Sabat. He confessed that he was a Chris- 
tian, and implored him, by the sacred tie of their former 
friendship, to let him escape with his life. ' But, Sir, 
said Sabat when relating the story himself, < I had no 
pity. I caused my servants to seize him, and I delivered 
him up to Morad Shah, King of Bochara. He was 



* The Armenian Christian, in Persia have among them a few 
copies of the Arabic Bible. 



£02 eijrfettau Eeseatcljes 



sentenced to die, and a herald went through the city of 
Bochara, announcing the time of his execution. An 
immense multitude attended, and the chief men of the 
city. I also went and stood near to Abdallah. He 
was offered his life if he would abjure Christ, the execu- 
sioner standing by him with his sword in his hand. 6 No/ 
said he, (as if the proposition were impossible to be 
complied with) 4 I cannot abjure Christ/ Then one of 
his hands was cut off at the wrist. He stood firm, his 
arm hanging by his side but with little motion. A physi- 
cian by desire of the King, offered to heal the wound if 
lie would recant. He made no answer, but looked up 
stedfastly towards heaven, like Stephen, the first martyr, 
his eyes streaming with tears. He did not look with 
anger towards me. He looked at me. But it was 
benignly, and with the countenance of forgiveness. His 
other hand was then cut off. 6 But, Sir/ said Sabat, in 
his imperfect English, ' he never changed, he never 
changed. And when he bowed his head to receive the 
blow of death, all Bochara seemed to say, f What new 
thing is this?' 

« Sabat had indulged the hope, that Abdallah would 
have recanted, when he was offered his life ; but when 
he saw that his friend was dead, he resigned himself to 
grief and remorse. He travelled from place to place, 
seeking rest and finding none. At last he thought that 
he would visit India. He accordingly came to Madras 
about five years ago. Soon after his arrival, he was 
appointed by the English government, a Mufti, or 
expounder of Mahometan law; his great learning and 
respectable station in his own country, rendering him well 
qualified for that office. And now the period of his own 



mooting tjje Arabians. 2G 3 

conversion drew near. While he was at Visagapatam, 
m the Northern Circars, exercising his professional du- 
ties, Province brought in his way a New Testament in 
the Arabic language.* He read it with deep thought, 
the Koran lying before him. He compared them toge- 
ther 'with patience and solicitude, and at length the truth 
of the word fell on his mind, as he expressed it, like a 
Hood of light. Soon afterwards he proceeded to Madras 
* journey of 300 miles, to seek Christian baptism , and 
having made a public confession of his faith, he was bap- 
teed by the Rev. Dr. Ker, in the English Church at 
that place, by the name of Nathanael, in the twenty- 
seventh year of his age. 

' Being now desirous to devote his future life to the 
glory of God, he resigned his secular employ, and came 
by invitation to Bengal, where he is now engaged in 
translating the Scriptures into the Persian language, 
ihis work has not hitherto been executed, for want of 
a translator of sufficient ability. The Persian is an im- 
portant language in the East, being the general language 
of Western Asia, particularly among the higher classes, 
and is understood from Calcutta to Damascus. But the 
great work which occupies the attention of this noble 
Arabian is the promulgation of the Gospel among his 
own countrymen; and from the present fluctuations of 
rehgmus opinion in Arabia, he is sanguine in his hopes of. 
Recess. His first work is entitled, (Neama Besharatin 
1)1 Arabi) < Happy News for Ambia;' written in the 



* One of those copies sent to India by the " Society for pro. 
motmg Christian Knowledge." 



204 e&rfettan mesearcljes 

Nabuttee, or common dialect of the country. It contains 
an eloquent and argumentative elucidation of the truth 
of the Gospel, with copious authorities admitted by the 
Mahomedans themselves, and particularly by the Waha- 
bians. And prefixed to it, is an account of the con- 
version of the author, and an appeal to the well-known 
family in Arabia, for the truih of the facts. 

? The following circumstance in the history of Sabat 
ought not to be omitted. When his family in Arabia 
had heard that he had followed the example of Abdallah, 
and become a Christian, they dispatched his brother to 
India, (a voyage of two T months) to assassinate him. 
While Sabat was sitting in his house at Visagapatam, his 
brother presented himself in the disguise of a faqueer, 
or beggar, having a dagger concealed under his mantle. 
He rushed on Sabat, and wounded him. But Sabat 
seized his arm, and his servants came to his assistance. 
He then recognized his brother ! The assassin would 
have become the victim of public justice, but Sabat in- 
terceded for him, and sent him home in peace with let* 
ters and presents to his mother's house in Arabia/ 

The Members of the Asiatic Society in Ben- 
gal, having been imposed on, some years ago, 
by a learned Hindoo, (who certainly made no 
profession of Christianity,) whose fabrications 
they published in their Researches, (see Mr.Wii- 
ford's Account, vol. 7th) it has been sometimes 
insinuated by the adversaries of Christian Mis- 
sions, that Sabat, the Arabian, would prove, 



respecting tlje perafank 205 

in like manner, to have deceived us. This is 
certainly possible ; and all good men would 
deplore the event. Let us be thankful, how- 
ever, for the good that has been already done by 
his means. 

He has made a translation of the Gospels 
into the Persian language, and " 800 copies of 
" St. Matthew and St. Luke have been printed 
" and exposed in the Bibliotheca Biblica of 

Calcutta, for sale." And we have now the 
satisfaction to state, that he has been faithful to 
his Christian principles for six years, and that 
" his translation of the whole New Testament, 
" into the Arabic language, was expected to be 
" finished by the end of the present year, 
" 181.1. 



THE ARABIC SCHOOL 



FOR THE 

TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

The Rev. Henry Martyn, B. D. Fellow of 
St. John's College, Cambridge, went out to 
India about five years ago. His qualifications 



s>o6 eijtfettan meaeattjjes 

for the general, superintendance of scriptural 
translation, are truly respectable. After ac- 
quiring the highest academical honours in 
science, and a just celebrity for classical know- 
ledge, he devoted himself to the acquirement 
of the Arabic and Hindostanee Languages. 
His mind was strongly impressed, at an early 
period, with the duty and importance of 
communicating the revealed Religion to heathen 
nations. He had a spirit to follow the steps of 
Swartz and Brainerd, and preach to the natives 
in the woods; but his peculiar qualifications, 
as a critical scholar, have fixed him to the de- 
partment of translation. He had not been long 
in Bengal before he was joined by Sabat the 
Arabian,and Mirza the Persian, and other learned 
natives ; so that they now form an Arabic School, 
from which it is not pretended that there is any 
appeal in India. 

Mr. Martyn's own proper department is the 
Hindostanee Language. Soon after his arrival 
he translated the Liturgy of the Church of 
England into that tongue. He found that many 
of the wives of the English soldiers were Hin- 
dostanee women, professing Christianity, but 
who did not understand the English Language, 
and being desirous to discharge faithfully the 
duties of his sacred office, he thought it proper 



vtsptttiw m Zmtaos. 207 

to attempt such a translation. This original 
work, having received repeated revision and 
amendment, is esteemed by competent judo-es 
to be a perspicuous and faithful version of the 
subhme original. He also translated, about the 
same fame, the parables and parabolic speeches 
or apophthegms, of our Saviour, into the same 
language, with an explanation subjoined to 
each. 

But the grand work which has chiefly en- 
gaged the attention of this Oriental Scholar 
during the last four years, is his Translation of 
the whole Bible into the Hindostawee Lan- 
guage. It has been often acknowledged that 
a version of the Scriptures into what is justly 
called « the grand popular language of Hindos- 
tan would be the most generally useful in 
India Mr. Martyn is in no haste to print any 
part of his Work, being desirous that it should 
be first revised and approved by the bes<- 
scholars. His chief difficulty is in settling the 
orthography of the language, and in ascertain- 
ing what proportion of words ought to be 
admitted from the Persian and Arabic fountains - 
for the Hmdostanee is yet in ft* infancV) as a ' 
written and grammatical tongue; and it'.W 
bable, that Mr. Martyn's Work „-ill contribute 
to fi x it s standard. To evince the car* 



£08 Christian Eesearcljes 

and accuracy which he proposes to himself in 
this Translation, it will be proper to subjoin 
his last official Report on the subject, dated De- 
cember, 1809. 

" The Hindostanee New Testament has been 

" finished some time, and submitted to the 
« inspection of a variety of persons in different 
" parts of the country; but the opinions formed 
« of the Work have not hitherto appeared to 
" justify its publication. I am perfectly con- 
« vinced of the inutility of attempting to please 
" all ; yet I thought it better to withhold from 
" the Press what longer experience, and the 
" possession of more efficient instruments, 
" might enable me to send forth, in a form more 
calculated to give general satisfaction. The 
« person whose assistance I was most anxious 
" to obtain, has once more joined me; and I am 
« now willing to hope, that the Word of God 
« may be presented to the native of India, so as 
" to be intelligible to the generality of readers. 
" The grammar of the language is nearly fixed 
" by Mr. Gilchrist's learned and useful labours; 
" but it is still difficult to write in it with a 
« view to general utility. For the higher Ma- 
« homedans and men of learning will hardly 
« peruse, with satisfaction, a book in which the 
* Persian has not lent its aid to adorn the style. 



vtzpttttns tbt 2taWan& 209 

,f To the rest a larger proportion of Hindee is 
* more acceptable. The difficulty of ascer- 
H tainingthe point equally removed from either 
" extreme ' w °uld be considerably lessened, were 
" there any prose compositions in the language, 
<< of acknowledged purity. But unfortunately 
" no SQch ^andard exists : no works of any de- 
" scription indeed have been found but poems. 
" Lately some translations in Hindostanee prose 
" have issued from the College of Fort-William; 
" but as they have not yet stood the test of time' 
" and are very little known in the country, they 
" C0Llld not saf % be referred to as a standard. 
u Thus I have been left to the guidance of my 
" own judgement far more than I could have 
" wished." 

In regard to the Arabic and Persian transla- 
tions, both of which Mr. Martyn superintends, 
as well as the Hindostanee, he thus writes : 

" In the Persian and Arabic translations there 
" are happily no such difficulties. The valuable 
qualities of our Christian brother, Nathanael 
" Sabat, render this part of the work compara- 
" tively easy. As he is, I trust, a serious 
« Christian, the study of the Word of God, 
" and the translation of it, are of course a mat- 
" ter of choice with him, and a rigid adherence 



2 1 o Christian IResearcIjeg 



st to the original, a point of duty.* As a scholar 
" his acquirements are very considerable. He 
" was educated under the care of the most 
" learned man in Bagdad, and, having conti- 
" nued to exercise himself in composition, he 
" has acquired in consequence a critical acumen, 
u and great command of words. His ill state 
sf of health renders it impossible to say exactly 
et when the work he has undertaken will be 
" finished ; but if nothing untoward happen to 
" interrupt us, you may expect the New Testa- 
" ment, in the three languages, in the course of 
(i two years.. 



THE JEWS. 



There are three remarkable prophecies con- 
cerning the Jews. 

* The solicitude of these Translators to infuse the true mean- 
ing of the original into their versions, and not to trust entirely 
to the English Translation, will appear from the following 
observations of Mr. Martyn in his last letter.— « The Psalms 
we must leave till the end of the New Testament, for this solid 
reason, that I do not understand a considerable portion of that 
book. Much of the present Translation is certainly unintelli- 
gible. It appears to me, that the two Royal Authors have suf- 
fered more from the plebeian touch of their interpreters, than 
even the Prophets, or any others but Job, Hebrew has beea 
of late my constant •meditation." 



wapectthfftftesretas. 211 

■ 1- " The children of Israel shall abide many 
, days without a King, and without a Prinee 
"and Without a sacrifice, and without an image' 
« and without an Ephod, and without Terra! 
' phim?" Hos. iii. 4. 

2. " The Lord shall scatter thee among all 
" people, from the one end of the earth even 
" unto the other." Deut. xxix, 64. And yet 
„ the pe °P le sha11 d «' el l alone, and shall not be 

reckoned amongst the nations." Num. xxiii. y. 
u 3 - " Thou shalt become an astonishment, 

a proverb, and a bye-word among all the na- 

" tions whither the Lord shall lead thee— 

" Among these nations shalt thou find no ease 

" neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest." 
Deut. xxviii. 37. 65. 

The first of these prophecies is very remark- 
able; for who ever heard of a nation « abidino- 
" many days" without its civil and religious 
polity, and surviving its political existence? 
The very assertion seems to involve an absurdity. 
D!d the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks, or Ro- 
mans survive their civil and religious polity ? 

The second prediction is not less singular than 
the former; for if the Jews were to be received 
among the nations of the earth, why should they 
not " be reckoned with the nations?" Would 
any man, in a remote age, venture to foretell that 
» 2 



£12 Cftrttttan Eesearcijes 

there was a certain nation, which, in the ages to 
come, would be received and tolerated by all 
other nations, merely to be persecuted ?* 

But the third prophecy is such as must afford 
a contemplation to infidelity, to the end of time. 
The Jews were to become " an astonishment, 
" and a proverb, and a bye-word among all the 
" nations," because they shed the blood of the 
Saviour of the world. Now it is not surpri- 
sing that Christians should reproach them for 
such a crime. But how should we expect that 
they would be " trodden down of the heathen 



* To this day the Jews « are not reckoned" with the 
English nation. The prophetical record influenced the last 
parliamentary proceeding respecting them. In 1758, a Bill 
was passed to naturalize the Jews 5 but after a few months it 
was repealed, the voice of the people demanded that the de- 
voted nation should « not be reckoned with them." So true it is, 
that our last national deliberation concerning this people was 
influenced by the ancient prophecy.— The time is now come 
when Parliament may restore to the Jew the franchise of 
a fellow-creature, without contravening the Divine decrees. 
It is predicted again, that " Israel shall return to the Lord 
their Godj" and it is believed that the period of this event is not 
far remote. In obedience then to the dictate of this prophecy, 
let our Christian nation proceed, without delay, to take away 
the reproach of the Jewish people 5 and announce the act in 
the most public and solemn manner, as an example to the rest 
of the world. 



mpttttng tt)t jetoa, 



213 



" world, 5 ' who never heard of such a Saviour? 
Behold the Hindoo, at this clay, punishing the 
Jew, without knowing the crime of which he 
has been guilty ! 

These three prophecies have been manifestly 
fulfilled ; and if we had no other evidence, this 
is sufficient to prove " that there is a God, and 
" that he hath made a revelation to man." 

There is a fourth prophecy concerning this 
people, which is hastening to its accomplish- 
ment The Prophet Hosea, after * foretelling 
that the children of Israel should abide many 
days without a King, adds these words : — 
" Afterwards shall they return, and seek the 
" Lord their God, and David their king; and 
" shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the 
" latter days." Hosea iii. 5. 

The question, which is now in the mouth of 
every Christian, is that which was asked in the 
vision of the prophet Daniel on the same sub- 
ject ; " How long shall it be to the end of these 
"wonders?" Dan. xii. 6. When shall the 
" indignation against the holy people be accom- 
" plished?" Dan. xi. 31, that they may M return 
" and seek the Lord their God, and David their 
"king?" 

To Daniel the Prophet, and to John the Evan- 
gelist, was given a revelation of the great events 



2 1 4 C&r&tfan Eesearcl>es 

of the general Church to the end of time. 
Daniel foretels that the Christian Church shall 
be oppressed by the persecuting powers for 
" a time, times, and the dividing of a time." 
Dan. vii. 25. The same period he assigns for 
the accomplishment of the indignation against 
the holy people Israel. " One said, how long 
<£ shall it be to the end of these wonders? And 
" I heard the man clothed in linen, which was 
" upon the waters of the river, when he held 
" up his right hand and his left hand unto 
* heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, 
" that it shall be for a time, times, and a half ; 
" and when he shall have accomplished to 
" scatter the power of the holy people, all these 
« things shall be fulfilled." Dan. xii. 7- Now 
the same form of words is used in the Revela- 
tion of St. John, to express the duration of the 
Papal and Mahomedan powers. Oppressed by 
them, the Church of Christ was to remain deso- 
late in the wilderness, " for a time, times, and 
" half of a time." Rev. xii. 14. Every one, 
who is erudite in sacred prophecy, will under- 
stand that this great period of Daniel and St. 
John commences at the same era, namely, the 
rise of the persecuting powers; and that its 
duration is 1260 years.* 



* See this period explained in p. 192-3. 



respecting tlje % eto& 215 

Here then are three great events hastening to 
their period; the extinction of the Papal domi- 
nion; the subversion of the Mahomedan power; 
and " the accomplishment of the divine indig- 
" nation against the holy people," or the return 
of the people of Israel " to seek the Lord their 
Ai God, and David their king/' 

Our blessed Saviour has not left an event of 
•this importance without notice. The Jews," 
saith he, shall be led away captive into all 
" nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down 
" of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 
a be fulfilled." Luke xxi. 24. What these 
" times of the Gentiles" are, our Lord has 
explained in his subsequent Revelation to St, 
John. " The court which is without the temple 
n is given unto the Gentiles ; and the holy city 

shall they tread under foot forty and two 
" months ;" or, in prophetical language, at a 
day for a year, \QGQ years. Rev. xi. g. 

The Apostle Paul hath also recorded this event 
" I would not, brethren, that ye should be 
" ignorant of this mystery, that blindness, in 

part, is happened to Israel, until the fulness 
61 of the Gentiles he come in ; and so all Israel 
" shall be saved* Rom. xi. <J5. The fulness of 
time for the conversion of the Gentiles will be 
come in, when the Mahomedan and Papal ob- 



% 1 6 Cljrfettan iReseatrt)^ 



structions are removed. Such events as the fall 
of the Pope in the West, and of Mahomed in the 
East, both of whom persecuted the Jews to 
death, will probably be the means of awakening 
the Jews to consider the evidences of that Reli- 
gion which predicted the rise and fall of both. 

But the grand prophecy of the apostle Paul 
on this subject, is that which respects the conse- 
quence of the conversion of the Jews. " The 
" receiving of the Jews," saith he, " What shall 
" it be to the world, but life from the dead?" 
Horn, xi. 15. Dispersed as they are in all 
countries, and speaking the languages of all 
countries, they will form a body of preachers 
ready (prepared ; and they need only say, 
" Behold the Scriptures of God, in our pos- 
" session ; read our history there, as foretold 
" three thousand years ago, and read the events 
" in the annals of nations. We are witnesses 
" to the world, and the world to us. Let the 
" whole race of mankind unite and examine the 
" fact."—" All ye inhabitants of the world, 
" and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when the 
*' Lord lifteth up an ensign on the mountains : 

and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye." 
Isaiah xviii. 3. — Thus will their preaching be to 
the world " life from the dead." 

But if the conversion of Israel is to ta-ke 



rejecting tlje % eto& 



217 



place when the Papal and Mahomedan powers 
have fallen, (and who does not see that these 
events are near at hand?) it might be expected 
that some signs of conciliation between Jews 
and Christians would now begin to be visible. 
And is not this the fact? Christians in all 
countries begin to consider, that " the indigna- 
" tion against the holy people" is nearly accom- 
plished. Many events declare it. The indig- 
nation of man is relaxing. The prophecies 
have been fulfilled regarding it. The great 
crime at Calvary has been punished by all 
nations; and we now hear the words of the 
Prophet addressing us, " Comfort ye, comfort 
u ye my people, saith your God ; speak ye com- 
" fortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that 
,c her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity 
" is pardoned." Isaiah xl. 1. This is the Di- 
vine command. And behold Christians begin 
now, for the first time, " to speak comfortably 
to Jerusalem." 



While the author was in the East, the state 
of the Jews, who are dispersed in different 
countries, frequently occupied his thoughts. 
He had heard that they existed in distinct colo- 
nies in certain parts of India ; that some of 



■218 c&rfettan Kesearcljes 



them had arrived long before the Christian Era, 
and had remained in the midst of the Hindoos, to 
this time, a distinct and separate people, perse- 
cuted by the native princes, from age to age, 
and yet not destroyed ; " burning, like the bush 
" of Moses, and not consumed ;" and he had a 
strong desire " to turn aside and see this great 

sight." His mind was impressed with the 
conviction that their perservation, in such a 
variety of regions, and under such a diversity 
of circumstances, could be only effected by the 
interposition of the Divine providence, which 
reserved them, thus distinct, for some special 
and important purpose. And since the period 
of time for the accomplishment of this purpose 
was considered by many to be fast approaching, 
he wished to hear the sentiments of the Jews 
from their own lips, and to learn their actual 
impressions, as to their present circumstances 
and future hopes. 

In his Memorial respecting the Syrian Chris- 
tians, presented to Marquis Wcllesley, the 
Author also noticed the existence of an ancient 
colony of Jews on the coast of Malabar, parti- 
cularly at Cochin ; and as this place had recently 
become a part of the British Empire, by conquest 
from the Dutch, Lord William Bentinck, then 
Governor of Madras, who had received letters 



tespectmg tlje 219 

from the Supreme Government, was pleased to 
direct the civil officer, who had charge of the 
department of Cochin,* to afford him every 
aid in the prosecution of his Researches. His 
first Tour to Cochin was in November, 1 806, 
and he remained in the country till February., 
1807. He again visited in January, 1808. He 
has only room, in this present Work, to intro- 
duce a few notes from his Journal 



f Cochin^ Feb. 4, 1 80/, 

* I have been now In Cochin, orits vicinity, for upwards 
of two months, and have got well acquainted with the 
Jews. They do not live in the city of Cochin, but in a 
town about a mile distant from it, called Mattachery, and 
Jews' -Town. It is almost wholly inhabited by the Jews, 
who have two respectable Synagogues. Among them 
are some very intelligent men, who are not ignorant of 
the history of nations. There are also Jews here from 
remote parts of Asia, so that^ this is the fountain of 
intelligence concerning that people in the East ; there 
being constant communication by ships with the Red 
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the mouths of the Indus. 
The resident Jews are divided into two classes, called the 
Jerusalem or White Jews ; and the ancient or Black 



* Thomas Flower, Esq. 



220 



Christian iaeseartf)es 



Jews. The White Jews reside at this place. The Black 
Jews have also a Synagogue here ; but the great body of 
that tribe inhabit towns in the interior of the province. 
I have now seen most of both classes. My inquiries 
refer chiefly to their antiquity, their manuscripts, and 
their sentiments concerning the present state of the 
Jewish nation/ 



THE JERUSALEM OR WHITE JEWS. 

f On my inquiry into the antiquity of the White 
Jews, they first delivered to me a narrative, in the 
Hebrew Language, of their arrival in India, which has 
been handed down to them from their fathers ; and then 
exhibited their ancient brass Plate, containing their 
charter and freedom of residence, given by a King of 
Malabar. The following is the narrative of the events 
relating to their first arrival. 

c " After the second Temple was destroyed, (which may 
God speedily rebuild I) our fathers, dreading the Con- 
queror's wrath, departed from Jerusalem, a numerous body 
of men, women, priests, and Levites, and came into this 
land. There were among them men of repute for learning 
and wisdom; and God gave the people favour in the sight 
of the King, who at that time reigned here, and he granted 
them a place to dwell in, called Cranganor. He allowed 
them a patriarchal jurisdiction within the district, with 



respectmg flje f eta& 1 



certain privileges of nobility; and the Royal grant was 
engraved, according to the custom of those days, on a 
plate of brass. This icas done in the year from the ere- 
ation of the world, 4250, (a. d. 490) ; and this plate of 
brass we still have in possession. Our fore-fathers con- 
tinued at Cranganor for about a thousand years, and the 
number of Heads who governed were seventy-two. Soon 
after our settlement, other Jews followed us from Judea / 
and among these came that man of great wisdom, Rabbi 
Samuel, a Levite of Jerusalem, with his son, Rabbi Jehnda 
Levita. They brought with them the silver trumpets, 
made use of at the time of the Jubilee, which were 
saved when the second Temple was destroyed; and we 
have heard from our fathers, that there were engraven 
upon those trumpets the letters of the ineffable Name.* 
There joined us also from Spain, and oilier places, from 
time to time, certain tribes of Jews, ivho had heard of our 
prosperity. But at last, discord arising among ourselves, 
one of our chiefs called to his assistance an Indian King, 
who came upon us with a great army, destroyed our houses, 
palaces, and strong holds, dispossessed us of Cranganor, 
killed part of us, and carried part into captivity. By 
these massawes ice were reduced to a small number. 
Some of the exiles came and dwelt at Cochin, where we 



* This circumstance of the Jubilee Trumpets is to be found 
in a similar account of the Jews of Malabar, published in the 
<f History of the Works of the Learned/' for March l6gg. 
It is not necessary to suppose that these trumpets belonged to 
the Temple ; for it is well known, that in every considerable 
town in Judea there were Jubilee trumpets. 



222 ef)rfstfan iaesearcltfg 



have remained ever since, suffering great changes from 
time to time. Time are amongst lis some of the children 
of Israel, (Bern-Israel,) who came from the country of 
Ashkenaz, from Egypt, from Tsoba, and other places, 
besides those who formerly inhabited this country. >y 

( The native annals of Malabar confirm the foregoing 
account, in the principle circumstances, as do the 
Mahomedan histories of the latter ages ; for the Maho- 
medans have been settled here in great numbers since 
the eighth century. 

tf The desolation of Cranganor the Jews describe 
as being like the desolation of Jerusalem in miniature. 
They were first received into the Country with some 
favour and confidence, agreeably to the tenor of the 
general prophecy concerning the Jews (for no country 
Was to reject them) and after they had obtained some 
wealth, and attracted the notice of men, they are pre- 
cipitated to the lowest abyss of human sufferings and 
reproach. The recital of the sufferings of the Jews at 
Cranganor resembles much that of the Jews at Jeru- 
salem, as given by Josephus. 

c I now requested they would shew me their brass 
plate. Having beeu given by a native King, it is writ- 
ten, of course, in the Mahbaric language and charac- 
ter 5 and is now so old that it cannot be well understood. 
The Jews preserve a Hebrew translation of it, which 
they presented to me : but the Hebrew itself is very dif- 
ficult, and they do not agree among themselves, as to 
the meaning of some words. I have employed, by their 
permission, an engraver at Cochin, to execute a fac- 



respecting tfje % m&+ 223 

simile of the original plate, on copper.* This ancient 
document begins in the following manner according to 
the Hebrew translation :f 

9 « Jw the peace of God, the King, which hath made 
the earth, according to his pleasure. To this God, I, 
AIRVI BRAHMIN, fa w lifted up my hand, and have 
granted, by this deed, which many hundred thousand years 

shall rim- I, dwelling in Cranganor, have granted, 

in the thirty-sixth year of my reign, in the strength of 
power I have granted, m the strength of power I have 
given in inheritance, to JOSEPH RABBAN." 

' Then follow the privileges of nobility ; such as per* 
mission to ride on the elephant ; to have a herald to go 
before to announce the name and dignity; to have the 
lamp of the day; to walk on carpets spread upon the 
earth; and to have trumpets and cymbals sounded before 
him. King Aim then appoints Joseph Rabban to be 
c Chief and Governor of the houses of congregation, 
(the Synagogues,) and of certain districts, and of the 
sojourners in them/ What proves the consequence of 
the jews at the period when this grant was made, is, 
that it is signed by seven Kings as witnesses. < And to 
this are witnesses, King Bivada Cubertin Mitadin, and 
he is King of Travancore. King Airla Nada Mana 



* The original is engraved on both sides of the plate, the 
fac-simile forms two plates. These are now deposited in the 
Public Library at the University of Cambridge. 

f A Copy of this Hebrew translation was sent to the Uni- 
versity with the other MSS. — I have a copy in my possession, 



224 Christian ffltegearc&ea 

Vikriin, and he is the Samorin King. Veloda Nada 
Archarin Shatin, and he is King of Argot: The re- 
maining four Kings are those of Palgatchery, Colastri, 
Carbinath, and Vara-changur. There is no date in this 
document,, further than what may be collected from 
the reign of the Prince, and the names of the royal 
witnesses. Dates are not usual in old Malabaric wri- 
tings. One fact is evident, that the Jews must have 
existed a considerable time in the country, before they 
could have obtained such a grant. The tradition before 
mentioned assigns for the date of the transaction, the 
year of the Creation 4250, which is, in Jewish compu- 
tation, a. d. 490. It is well known, that the famous 
Malabaric King, Ceram Perumal, made grants to the 
Jews, Christians, and Mahomedans, during his reign ; 
but that prince nourished in the eighth or ninth cen- 
tury. 



THE BLACK JEWS. 

i it is only necessary to look at the countenance of 
the Black Jews to be satisfied that their ancestors must 
have arrived in India many ages before the White Jews. 
Their Hindoo complexion, and their very imperfect 
resemblance to the European Jews, indicate that they 
have been detached from the parent stock in Judea many 
ages before the Jews in the West; and that there have 
been intermarriages with families not Israelitish. I had 



ve^tttms tlje % m%. m 

heard that those tribes, which had passed the Indus, 
have assimilated so much to the customs and habits of 
the countries in which they live, that they may be some- 
times seen by a traveller, without being recognised as Jews. 
In the interior towns of Malabar, I was not always able 
to distinguish the Jew from the Hindoo. I hence per- 
ceived how easy it may be to mistake the tribes of Jewish 
descent among the Affghans and other nations in the nor- 
thern parts of Hindoostan. The White Jews look upon 
the Black Jews as an inferior race, and as not of a pure 
cast : which plainly demonstrates that they do not spring 
from a common stock in India, 

e The Black Jews communicated to me much interest- 
ing intelligence concerning their brethren the ancient 
Israelites in the East : traditional indeed in its nature, 
but in general illustrative of true history. They re- 
counted the names of many other small colonies resident 
m northern India, Tartary, and China, and gave me a 
written list of sixty-five places. I conversed with 
those who had lately visited many of these stations, and 
were about to return again. The Jews have a never- 
ceasing communication with each other in the East* 
Their families indeed are generally stationary, being 
subject to despotic princes; but the men move much 
about in a commercial capacity ; and the same individual 
will pass through many extensive countries. So that 
when any thing interesting to the nation of the Jews 
takes place, the rumour will pass rapidly throughout all 
Asia. 

< I enquired concerning their brethren* the Ten Tribes, 
They said that it was commonly believed among them, 



Q 



ns Christian iaegeatcfjeg 

that the great body ef the Israelites are to be found in 
Chaldea, and in the countries contiguous to it, being the 
very places whither they were first carried into captivity ; 
that some few families had migrated into regions more 
remote, as to Cochin and Rajapoor, in India, and to 
other places yet farther to the East ; but that the bulk 
of the nation, though now much reduced in number, 
had not to this day removed two thousand miles from 
Samaria.— Among the Black Jews I could not find many 
copies of the Bible. They informed me, that in certain 
places of the remote dispersion, their brethren have but 
some small portions of the Scriptures, and that the 
prophetical books were rare 3 but that they themselves, 
from their vicinity to the White Jews, have been sup- 
plied, from time to time, with the whole of the Old 
Testament. 

6 From these communications I plainly perceive the 
important duty which now devolves on Christians pos- 
sessing the art of printing, to send to the Jews in the 
East, copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, and particularly 
of the prophetical books. If only the prophecies of 
Isaiah and Daniel were published among them, the effect 
might be great. They do not want the Law so much. 
But the prophetical books would appear among them 
with some novelty, particularly in a detached form ; and 
could be easily circulated through the remotest parts of 
Asia,' 



respecting fl)e f etos. 



MANUSCRIPTS. 



* Almost in every house I find Hebrew books, printed 
or manuscript; particularly among, the White Jews. 
Most of the printed Hebrew of Europe has found its 
way to Cochin, through the medium of the Portuguese 
and Dutch commerce of former times. When I ques- 
tioned the Jews concerning the old copies of the Scrip- 
tures, which had been read in the Synagogues from age 
to age ; some told me that it was usual to bury them 
when decayed by time and use. Others said that this 
was not always the case. I despaired at first of being 
able to procure any of the old biblical writings ; but 
after I had been in the country about six weeks, and 
they found that I did not expect to obtain them merely 
as presents, some copies were recovered. The White 
Jews had only the Bible written on parchment, and of 
modern appearance, in their Synagogue ; but I was in- 
formed that the Black Jews possessed formerly copies 
written on Goat Skins ; and that in the Synagogue of the 
Black Jews there was an old Record Chest, into which 
the decayed copies of their Scriptures had been thrown. 
I accordingly went to the Synagogue with a few of the 
chief men, and examined the contents, which seme 
of them said they had never looked at before, and did 
not seem greatly to value. The manuscripts were of 
various kinds, on parchment, goat-skins, and cotton 
paper. I negotiated for them hastily, and wrapped 

Q g 



Christian laeseavcljts 

them up in two cloths, and gave them to the Jews 
to carry home to my house. I had observed some 
murmuring amongst the bye^standers in the Synagogue, 
while I was examining the chest : and before we appeared 
in the streets, the alarm had gone forth, that the Chris- 
tians were robbing the Synagogue of the Law. There 
were evident symptoms of tumult, and the women and 
children collected and were following us. I requested 
some of the more respectable Jews to accompany me 
out of the town ; but I had scarcely arrived at my own 
house at Cochin, when the persons who had permitted 
me to take the manuscripts, came in evident agitation, 
and told me I must restore them immediately to calm the 
popular rage. Others had gone to complain to the Chief 
Magistrate, Thomas Flower, Esq. And now I had lost 
my spoil, but for the friendly counsel and judicious con- 
duct of Mr. Flower. He directed that all the manu- 
scripts should be delivered up to him, and, that there 
should be no further proceedings on the subject with- 
out his authority. To this the Jews agreed. There was 
some plea of justice on my side, as it was understood that 
I had given a valuable consideration. In the mean time 
he allowed a few days to pass, that the minds of the 
people might become tranquil, and he then summoned 
some of the more liberal men, and gave them a hearing 
on the subject. In the meantime I thought it prudent 
to retire from Cochin, for a day or two, and went to Cran- 
ganor, about sixteen miles off, to Colonel Macaulay, the 
British Resident at Travancore, who was then at the 
house of Mr. Drummond, the Collector of Malabar. On 
hit return t« Cochin, Mr. Flower informed me that «tt 



mptttiw tl>e gf eto& 229 

the manuscripts were to be returned to my house ; that 
I was to select what was old, and of little use to the Jews, 
and to give back to them what was new. The affair 
ended, however, in the Jews permitting me generously to 
retain some part of the new. 

6 1 have since made a tour through the towns of the 
Black Jews in the interior of the country, Tritoor, Paroor, 
Ckenotia, and Maleh. I have procured a good manv 
manuscripts, chiefly in the Rabbinical character, some of 
which the Jews themselves cannot read; and I do not 
know what to say to their traditions. A copy of the 
Scriptures belonging to Jews of the East, who might be 
supposed to have had no communication with Jews in the 
West, has been long considered a desideratum in Europe; 
for the Western Jews have been accused by some learned 
men of altering or omitting certain words in the Hebrew 
text, to invalidate the argument of Christians. But Jews 
in the East, remote from the controversy, would have no 
motive for such corruptions. One or two of the MSS. 
which I have just procured, will probably be of some 
service in this respect. One of them is an old copy of 
the Books of Moses, written on a roll of leather. The 
skins are sewed together, and the roll is about forty-eight 
feet in length. It is, in some places, worn out, and the 
holes have been sewed up with pieces of parchment. 
Some of the Jews suppose that this roll came originally 
from Senna, in Arabia ; others have heard that it was 
brought from Cashmir. The Cabul Jews, who travel 
into the interior of China, say that in some Synagogues 
the Law is still written on a roll of leather, made of 
Goats' skins dyed red; not on vellum, but on a soft 



%m Christian iae&areJjes 



flexible leather ; which agrees with the description of the 
roll above mentioned.'* 

6 Ever since I came among these people, and heard 
their sentiments on the prophecies, and their confident 
hopes of returning to Jerusalem, I have thought much 
on the means of obtaining a version of the New Testa- 
ment in the Hebrew language, and circulating it among 
them and their brethren in the East. I had heard that 
there were one or two translations of the Testament 
in their own possession, but they were studiously kept 
out of my sight, for a considerable time. At last, how- 
ever, they were produced by individuals in a private man- 
ner. One of them is written in the small Rabbinical or 
Jerusalem character ; the other in a large square letter* 
The history of the former is very interesting. The 
translator, a learned Rabbi, conceived the design of 
making an accurate version of the New Testament, for 
the express purpose of confuting it. His style is copious 
and elegant, like that of a master in the language, and 
the translation is in general faithful. It does not indeed 



* Mr. Yeates, formerly of All Souls College, Oxford, and 
editor of the Hebrew Grammar, has been employed by the 
author for the last two years, at Cambridge, in arranging and 
collating the Hebrew and Syriac MSS. brought from India. 
His collation of the Roll of the Pentateuch above mentioned, 
is now finished, and will form a volume in quarto. The 
University has, with great liberality, resolved that this book 
shall be printed at the expence of the University, for the bene- 
fit of Mr. Yeatesj and Dr. Marsh, the learned Editor of 
Michaelis, has written a Note on the antiquity and importance 
of the manuscipt, which will form a Preface to the work. 



mpttttns #e %t\w. §m 

appear that he wished to pervert the meaning of a single 
sentence; but depending on his own abilities and renown 
as a scholar, he hoped to be able to controvert its doc- 
trines, and to triumph over it by fair contest in the pre* 
sence of the world. There is yet a mystery about the 
circumstances of this man's death, which time will 
perhaps unfold : the Jews are not inclined to say much 
to me about him. His version is complete, and written 
with greater freedom and ease towards the end than at 
the beginning. How astonishing it is that an enemy 
should have done this ! that he should have persevered 
resolutely and calmly to the end of his work ! not indeed 
always calmly ; for there is sometimes a note of execra- 
tion on the Sacred Person who is the subject of it, as if 
to unburden his mind, and ease the conflict of his labour- 
ing soul. At the close of the Gospels, as if afraid of 
the converting power of his own translation, * he calls 
heaven to witness that he had undertaken the work with 
the professed design of opposing the Epicureans; 9 by 
which term he contemptuously means the Christians. 

* I have had many interesting conferences with the 
Jews, on the subject of their present state; and have 
been much struck with two circumstances ; their constant 
reference to the DESOLATION of Jerusalem, and their 
confident hope that it will be one day REBUILT. The 
desolation of the Holy City is ever present to the minds 
of the Jews, when the subject is concerning themselves 
as a Nation; for, though without a king, and without a 
country, they constantly speak of the unity of their nation. 
Distance of time and place seems to have no effect in 
obliterating the remembrance of the Desolation. I often 



thought of the verse in the Psalms, ( If I forget thee, O 
Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning/ They 
speak of Palestine as being close at hand, and easily 
accessible. It is become an ordinance of their Rabbins in 
some places, that when a man builds a new house, he 
shall leave a small part of it unfinished, as an emblem of 
ruin, and write on it these words, Zedm Lachorchan, i. e. 
In MEMORY of the DESOLATION. 

4 Their hopes of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, 
the third and last time, under the auspices of the 
Messiah, or of a second Cyrus, before his coming, are 
always expressed with great confidence. They have 
a general impression, that the period of their liberation 
from the Heathen is not very remote ; and they consi- 
der the present commotions in the earth as gradually 
loosening their bonds. c It is,' say they, 6 a sure sign 
of our approaching restoration, that in almost all coun- 
tries there is a general relaxation of the persecu- 
tion against us/ I pressed strongly upon them the 
prophecies of Daniel. In former times that Prophet was 
not in repute among the Jews, because he predicted the 
coming of the Messiah at the end of the 6 seventy weeks 
and his book has been actually removed from the list 
of prophetic writings, and remains, to this day, among 
the Hagiographa, such as Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, 
Huth ; but he now begins to be popular among those 
who have studied him, because lie has predicted that 
the e accomplishment of the indignation against the holy 
people' is near at hand. The strongest argument to 
press upon the mind of a Jew at this period is to 
explain to his conviction Daniel's period of 1260 
years ; and then to shew the analogy which it bears t® 



respecting t!)e gfeto*. t35 

the period of the Evangelist John, concerning the Papal 
and Mahomedan powers ; with the state of which the 
Jews are well acquainted. 

' I passed through the burial-ground of the Jews the 
other day. Some of the fombs are handsomely con- 
structed, and have Hebrew inscriptions in prose and 
verse. This mansion of the dead is called by the Jews, 
Beth Haiim, or, : The House of the Living/ 

< Being much gratified with my visit to the Jews of 
Malabar, and desirous to maintain some communication 
with them, I have engaged a very respectable member 
of their community to accompany me with his servant 
to Bengal, and to remain with me in the capacity of 
Hebrew Moonshee, or teacher, until my return to Eng- 
land. Observing that in the houses of the White Jews 
there are many volumes of printed Hebrew, mostly of 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which are rarely 
met with in England, I have employed Misrahi, that is 
the name of my Moonshee, to collect some of the most 
valuable' 

At the beginning of the following year (1808) 
the Author visited Cochin a second time, and 
proceeded afterwards to Bombay, where he had 
an opportunity of meeting with some very in- 
telligent men of the Jewish nation. They had 
heard of his conferences with the Cochin Jews, 
and were desirous to discuss certain topics, par- 
ticularly the prophecies of Isaiah; and they 
engaged in them with far more spirit and frank- 
ness, he thought, than their brethren at Cochin 



^34 e&ttsttan Eesearctjeg 



had clone. They told him, that if he would 
take a walk to the Bazar in the suburb, without 
the walls of Bombay town, he would find a Sy- 
nagogue without a Sepher Tora y or book of the 
Law. He did so, and found it to be the case. 
The minister and a few of the Jews assembled, 
and shewed him their Synagogue, in which there 
were some loose leaves of prayers in manuscript, 
but no book of the Law. The Author did not 
understand that they disapproved of the Law ; 
but they had no copy of it. They seemed to 
have little knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures 
or history. This only proved what he had been 
often told, that small portions of the Jewish 
nation melt away from time to time, and are 
absorbed in the mass of the heathen world. 
Nor is this any argument against the truth of 
the prophecy, which declares that they should 
remain a separate and distinct people ; for these 
are mere exceptions. Conversions to Christianity 
in the early ages would equally militate against 
the prediction, taken in an absolute sense. 



THE TEN TRIBES! 

The Tribes of Israel are no longer to be in* 
quired after by name. The purpose, for which. 



they were once divided into tribes was accom- 
plished when the genealogy of the Messiah was 
traced to the stem of David. Neither do the 
Israelites themselves know certainly from what 
families they are descended. And this is a chief 
argument against the Jews, to which the Au- 
thor never heard that a Jew could make a sen- 
sible reply. The tribe of Judah was selected as 
that from which the Messiah should come; 
and behold, the Jews do not know which of 
them are of the tribe of Judah. 

While the Author was amongst the Jews of 
Malabar, he made frequent inquiries concerning 
the Ten Tribes. When he mentioned that it 
was the opinion of some, that they had mi- 
grated from the Chaldean provinces, he was 
asked to what country we supposed they had 
gone, and whether we had ever heard of their 
moving in a great army on such an expedition. 

It will be easy perhaps to shew, that the 
great body of the Ten Tribes remain to this day 
in the countries to which they were first carried 
captive. If we can discover where they were 
in the first century of the Christian Era, which 
was seven hundred years after the carrying 
away to Babylon, and again where they were in 
the fifth century, we certainly may be able to 
trace them up to this time. 



236 christian iSesearcijes 



Josephus, who wrote in the reign of Vespa- 
sian, recites a speech made by King Agrippa to 
the Jews, wherein he exhorts them to submit 
to the Romans, and expostulates with them in 
these words ; — " What, do you stretch your 
" hopes beyond the river Euphrates ? Do any 
w of you think that your fellow-tribes will 
(i come to your aid out of Adiabene ? Besides, 
" if they would come, the Parthian will not 
permit it." (Jos. de Bell. Lib. ii. c. 28.) We 
learn from this oration, delivered to the Jews 
themselves, and by a King of the Jews, that 
the Ten Tribes were then captive in Media, 
under the Persian Princes. 

In the fifth century, Jerome, author of the 
Vulgate, treating of the dispersed Jews in his 
Notes upon Hosea, has these words : " Unto this 
" day, the Ten Tribes are subject to the Kings 
4e of the Persians, nor has their captivity ever 
"been loosed." (Tom. vi. p. 7.); ancl a g am 
he says, " The Ten Tribes inhabit at this day 
" the cities and mountains of the Medes." 
Tom. vi. p. 80. 

There is no room left for doubt on this sub- 
ject. Have we heard of any expedition of 
the Jews " going forth from that cguntry, 
« like the Goths and Huns, " to conquer na- 
tions ?" Have we ever heard of their rising in 



respecting tije 3?eto& 237 

insurrection to burst the bands of their capti- 
vity ? To this day, both Jews and Christians 
are generally in a state of captivity m ^ e 
despotic countries. No family dares to k e 
the kingdom without permission of the King.* 
Mahomedanism reduced the number of the 
Jews exceedingly : It was presented to them at 
the point of the sword. We know that multi- 
tudes of Christians received it; for example 
the chief part of " the seven Churches of Asia;* 
and we may believe, that an equal proportion 
of Jews were proselyted by the same means. 
In the provinces of Cashmire and Afghanistan, 
some of the Jews submitted to great sacrifices 
rather than change their religion, and they 
remain Jews to this day ; but the greater num- 
ber yielded, in the course of ages, to the pow- 
er of the reigning religion. Their counte- 
nace, their language, their names, their rites 
and observances, and their history, all conspire 
to establish the fact.f We may judge in some 
degree, of the number of those who would 



* Joseph Emin, a Christian well known in Calcutta, wished 
to bring his family from Ispahan ; but he could not effect it, 
though our Government interested itself in his behalf. 

f Mr. Forster was so much struck with the general ap- 
pearance, garb, and manners of the Cashmirians, as to ihink. 



£38 C&tfstfan iResearctjes 



yield to the sword of Mahomed, and conform, 
in appearance at least, to what was called a 
sister Religion, from the number of those who 
conformed to the Christian Religion, under the 
influence of the Inquisition in Spain and Por- 
tugal. Orobio, who was himself a Jew, states 
in his History, that there were upwards of 
twenty thousand Jews in Spain alone, who, 
from fear of the Inquisition, professed Christi- 
anity, some of whom were Priests and Bishops. 
The tribes of the Affghan race are very numerous, 
and of different casts; and it is probable, that 
the proportion which is of Jewish descent 
is not great. The Affghan nations extend on 
both sides of the Indus, and inhabit the moun- 
tainous region, commencing in Western Persia. 
They differ in language, customs, religion, and 
countenance, and have little knowledge of each 
other. Some tribes have the countenance of 
the Persian, and some of the Hindoo ; and some 
tribes are evidently of Jewish extraction. 

Calculating then the number of Jews, who 
now inhabit the provinces of ancient Chaldea, 
or the contiguous countries, and who . still 



without any previous knowledge of the fact, that he had been 
suddenly transported among a nation of Jews See Forsier's 

Travels. 



respecttng tlje f eto& 239 

profess Judaism ; and the number of those who 
embraced Mahomedanism, or some form of it, 
m the same regions ; we may be satisfied, 
" That the greater part of the Ten Tribes, 
" which now exist, are to be found in the coun- 
il tries of their first captivity. Y 



RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

That many of the Jews, when liberated from 
their state of oppression, will return to Judea, 
appears probable from the general tenor of pro- 
phecy, and from their own natural and uncon- 
querable attachment to that country ; but we 
know not for what purpose they should all 
return thither; and it is perfectly unnecessary 
to contend for the fact, or to impose it as a 
tenet of faith. We perceive no reason why 
they should leave the nations in which they 
live, when these nations are no longer heathen. 
Nor is it possible, in numerous cases, to ascer- 
tain who are Jews, and who are not. It is also 
true, that before Judea could nourish the whole 
body of Jews, even in their present reduced 
state, the ancient fertility which was taken 
away according to prophecy, (Deut. xxviii. Q3 
and 38) must be restored by miracle. But we 



240 e&rtattan iaeseatcljes 



have no warrant to look for a miracle under the 
finished dispensation of the Gospel. We pos- 
sess " the more sure word of prophecy," (2 Pet. 
L 19,) and look not for signs and wonders. We 
expect no miracle for the Jews, but that of their 
conversion to Christianity ; which will be 
a greater miracle, than if the first Temple 
were to rise in its gold and costly stones, and 
Solomon were again to reign over them in all 
his glory. 

Much caution is also required in stating to 
fhem our opinions concerning a Millennium, or 
period of universal truth and felicity. It was 
prophesied to Israel, about seven hundred years 
before the coming of the Messiah, that a time 
should be, " when nation should no longer lift 
" the sword against nation, neither should men 
"learn war any more :" when tc the knowledge 
<c of the Lord, (which was then confined to 
" Judea,) should cover the earth, as the waters 
u cover the sea and when " they should not 
" teach every man his neighbour, saying, 
" Know the Lord, for all should know him 
" from the least to the greatest/ These pro- 
phecies were fulfilled generally when the 
Messiah appeared. The Gospel of Peace was 
preached to men, and (C the sound thereof went 
" to the ends of the earth." The lastpredic- 



tion which is the clearest and strongest of all, 
They shall not teach every man his neigh- 
hour, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall 
know hnn, from the least to the greatest," is 
expressly quoted by the Apostle Panl, (Heb. viii 
as having been already fulfilled by the 
manifestation of Christ, who abrogated the old 
covenant with Israel, which was confined to 
few, and made a new covenant with the world 
which was extended to all. 

It is believed, however, that the predictions 
above recited will receive a more particular ac- 
complishment hereafter, and that the <*lory even 
of the primitive Church shall be far surpassed. 
But it does not appear, that the conversion of 
men at any future period will be universal 
It is evident, indeed, from the sure word of 
prophecy, that there will be a long time of 
general holiness and peace, which will succeed 
to the present reign of vice and misery, proba- 
bly " a thousand years," during which, righte- 
ousness will be as common as wickedness is 
now ; and further, that this period is at hand 
even at the door.* But I see no ground for be- 
lievingthat such righteousness will be universal, 



* See Scott's Bible, Rev. «x. 4, 
R 



christian mmmtyz 

or that this life will ever be other than a state 
of probation and trial to qualify for " meetness 
" for the heavenly kingdom." Our Saviour sets 
forth, in different places, the character of his 
Church, to the end of time, and that character 
is always the same. The Gospel he compares to 
" seed sown by the sower, some on good and 
«« some on bad ground." Those who hear this 
Gospel he compares to men building on the 
rock, or on the sand; travelling in the broad, or 
in the narrow way; and to wheat and tares 
growing in the same field. " The field is the 
world," saithour Lord; " the good seed are the 
children of the kingdom : the tares are the 
m children of the wicked one : the enemy that 
"• sowed them is the devil: the harvest is the 
" end of the world ; and the reapers are the 
angels." Match, xiii. 39. This we believe to be. 
a picture of the visible Church to the end of 
time. 

In regard to the progress, conflict, and final 
extent of the Gospel, our Saviour notices all 
these circumstances generally in his last dis- 
course to his disciples. In the twenty-fourth 
chapter of St. Matthew, he gives an epitome of 
his more detailed prophecy in the Book of Re- 
velation. He foretels that there shall be « wars 
« and rumours of wars, persecutions, famines, 



mwttw mattes. 243 

" P estiI ^ces, earthquakes, false prophets, and 
" apostasies:" and then he adds, " And this Gos- 
" pel of the kingdom shall be preached in all 
* the world for a witness unto all nations : 
" and then shall the end come." 

To suppose that there will be a period when 
the Church on earth shall be no longer mili- 
tant, is to suppose that a time will come when 
the Christian may die without being able to say, 
" I have fought the good fight;" when there 
will belittle inward corruption, and little out- 
ward opposition; little vestige of the old Adam, 
in the new race, and littleuse for the old Bible, in 
the new state of things. Let us interpret Scrip- 
ture soberly. When the Millennium arrives, 
knowledge and holiness will be general ; but 
not universal. Perfection is to be attained, not 
in this world, but in heaven. 



On the Author's return to England, he found 
that a Society had been instituted for the Con- 
version of the Jews : and he was not a little 
surprised to hear that some Christians had op- 
posed its institution. He was less surprised at 

r 2 



244 Cijttsttan meseatctjes 

this, however, when he was informed that ob- 
jections had been brought against the Society 
for the circulation of the Bible. It is possible 
to urge political arguments against Christianity 
itself. Such a spirit as this does not seem en- 
titled to much courtesy ; for it springs directly 
from this assumption, That the Bible is not from 
God, or, That there is something greater than 

TRUTH. 

The grand object, which now engages the 
attention of the Jewish Institution is a Trans- 
lation of the New Testament into the Hebrew 
Language. To assist them in this important 
work, a copy of the Manuscript found in Ma- 
labar, now commonly called the Trawncore 
Testament, has been presented to them. # This 
manuscript lias been fairly transcribed by Mr. 
Yeates, of Cambridge, in the square Hebrew 
character, and forms three volumes, quarto. 
The question now under consideration by the 
Society is, whether it shall be received as the 
basis for the general translation. The first 
sheet of the intended version has already been 
printed off, for the purpose of being submitted 
as a specimen to the best Hebrew scholars in 



* See page W7* 



vtsfttttag m fetes, 245 

the kingdom, both Jews and Christians; in 
order that it may go forth in as perfect a form 
as may be. So that it is possible, that before 
the end of the present year, the Four Gospels 
-will be published, and copies sent to the Jews 
in the East, as the first-fruits of the Jewish 
Institution. It is very remarkable, that this 
should be the very year which was calculated 
long ago, by a learned man, as that in which 
" the times of happiness to Israel" should be- 
gin. In_ the year 1677, Mr. Samuel Lee, a 
scholar of enlarged views, who had studied the 
prophetical writings with great attention, pub- 
lished a small volume, entitled, " Israel Redux, 
si or The Restauration of Israel." He calculates 
the event from the prophecies of Daniel and of 
St. John, and commences the great period of 
1260 years, not from a. d. 608, which we think 
correct, but from a. d. 476, which brings it to 
1736. He then adds, " After the great con- 
" flicts with the Papal powers in the West, 
" will begin the stirs and commotions about 
11 the Jews and Israel in the East. If then to 
" 1736 we add 30 more, they reach to 1766 ; 
" but the times of perplexity are determined 
" (by Daniel) to last 45 years longer. If then 
u we conjoin those 45 years more to 1766, 
" it produces one thousand eight hundred and 



246 Christian mesearcljes 

u eleven, for those times of happiness to 
« Israel."* 



VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES 
FOR THE JEWS. 

Since writing the above, the Author has re- 
ceived the following communication from the 
Rev. David Brown, dated Calcutta, March 15, 
1810: 

" Dr. Leyden, of the College of Fort William, in 
a letter communicated to me yesterday, has offered to 
conduct Translations of the Scriptures in the following 
Languages ; viz." 

t. Affghan, 5. Bugis, 

2. Cashmirian, 6. Macassar, 

3. Jaghatai, and 

4. Siamese, 7- Maldivian. 

€C The Jaghatai is the original Turcoman Language, 
as spoken in the central districts of Asia. The Bugis 
is the language of the Celebes. The Macassar, is 



* See <{ Israel Redux/' page 122, printed in Cornhill^ 
London, 1677. 



respecting tlje fetoa. 247 

spoken at Macassar, in the Celebes, and in the great 
island of Borneo. 

" Dr. Leyden is assisted, as you know, by learned 
natives in the compilation of Grammars and Vocabu- 
laries in the above languages, and entertains no doubt 
that he shall be able to effect correct versions of the 
Scriptures in them all/* 

Thus, sooner than could have been expected, 
are we likely to have the Bible translated into 
the language of the Celebes.* But who can 
estimate the importance of a translation of the 
Scriptures into the languages of Affghana and 
Cashmire, those Jewish regions? 

The Jaghatai, or Zagat hai, is the language 
of Great Bucharia, which was called Zagathai, 
from a son of Zenghis Khan. It is an auspici- 
ous circumstance for Dr. Leyden's translation 
of the Jaghatai, that Prince Zagathai himself 
embraced Christianity, and made a public pro- 
fession of the Gospel in his capital of Samar- 
chand.f There were at that period above a 
hundred Christian Churches in the province ; 
and some of them remain to this day. We 
are also informed, both by the Nestorian and 



* See page 86 for an account of the importance of this lan» 
guage. 

f See Mosheim's Eccl, Tartar History, p. 40 9 



Romish writers, that there was a version of the 
New Testament and Psalms, in a Tartar Lan- 
guage. Dr. Leyden will soon discover whe- 
ther this was the Jaghatai. That language 
is spoken in Bochara, Balk, and Samarchand, 
and in other cities of Usbeck, and Indepen- 
dent Tartary. This is the country which 
Dr. Giles Fletcher, who was envoy of Queen 
Elizabeth, at the Court of the Czar of Muscovy, 
has assigned as the principal residence of the 
descendants of the Ten Tribes. He argues from 
their place, from the name of their cities, from 
their language, which contains Hebrew and 
Chaldaic words, and from their peculiar rites 
which are. Jewish. Their principal city, Samar- 
chand, is pronounced Samarchian, which Dr. 
Fletcher thinks, might be a name given by the 
Israelites after their own Samaria in Palestine. 
(See Israel Redux, p. 12.) Benjamin of Tudela, 
who travelled into this country in the twelfth 
century, and afterwards published his Itinerary, 
says, " In Samarchand, the city of Tamerlane, 
" there are 50,000 Jews under the presidency of 
u Rabbi Obadiah : and in the mountains and cities 
ifi of Nisbor, there are four tribes of Israel resi- 
** dent, viz. Dan, Zabulon 3 Asher, and Naphali."* 



* See Benjamini Itinerarium, p. 97- 



respecting ti)e f eto& M9 

It is remarkable that the people of Zagathai 
should be constantly called Ephthalites and 
Nephthalltes by the Byzantine writers, who alone 
had any information concerning them.* The 
fact seems to be, that, if from Babylon as a cen- 
tre, you describe a segment of a circle from the 
northern shore of Caspian Sea to the heads of 
the Indus, you will enclose the territories con- 
taining the chief body of the dispersed tribes of 
Israel. 

This design of Dr. Leyden to superintend tfte 
translation of the Scriptures in seven new lan- 
guages, marks the liberal views and the enterprise 
ingand ardent mind of that scholar, and will be. 
hailed by the friends of Christianity in Europe 
as a noble undertaking, deserving their utmost 
eulogy and patronage, It will give pleasure to 
all those who have hitherto taken any interest 
in " the restoration of learning in the East," to 
see that the College of Fort- William is pro 
during such excellent fruit May its fame be 
perpetual ! 



* TheophaneSpp. 79, 



•9 



250 e&t&ttau &mm\it& 



THE BIBLIOTHECA BIBLICA 
IN BENGAL. 



The Bibliotheca Biblica is a Repository for 
Bibles in the Oriental Languages, and for Bibles 
only. They are here deposited for sale at mo- 
derate prices ; and lists of the various versions 
are sent to remote parts of Asia, that individuals 
may know where to purchase them ; the com- 
merce from the port of Calcutta rendering the 
transmission of books extremely easy. Those 
who desire to have copies for gratuitous distri- 
bution, are supplied at the cost prices. This in- 
stitution is under the immediate superintendence 
of the Rev. David Brown, late Provost of the 
College of Fort-William : and it is supported by 
all the translators of the Bible in India, who 
send in their versions, and by the College of 
Fort-William, which sends in its versions. 

There have been already deposited in the Bib- 
liotheca Biblica four thousand volumes, in the 
following languages : 



Arabic, 
Persian, 



Orissa, 
Bengalee, 



^tbitotfjeca 33&itca* 251 

HlNDOSTANEE, CHINESE, 

Sh anscrit, Portuguese, and 

Mahratta, English. 

These translations have been chiefly furnished 
by the following persons : 

Dr. William Gary and Mr. Joshua 
Marshman, have furnished the Sh anscr it, Ben- 
gake, Orissa, and Mahratta. 

Nathanael Sabat, from Arabia, has contri- 
buted the Persian. The first Persian transla- 
tion, (which is also in the Bibliotheca,) was made 
by the late Lieutenant-Col. Colebrook, Sur- 
veyor-General in Bengal ; and it " blesses his 
memory." 

Mirza Fitrut furnishes the Hindostanee. 
There is another Hindostanee translation by 
the Missionaries at Serampore ; and 

Mr. J oannes Lassar is author of the Chinese. 

There will be a large accession to this honour- 
able catalogue in a year or two. It is astonish- 
ing how much this simple Institution, like the 
Bible Society in England, has attracted the 
attention of the public, Native and European, 
in India, The Superintendants have recently 



£5£ christian mmxttys. 

sent to England for the following supply 
of Bibles, which is now collecting for them, viz. 

English - 
Portuguese - 
French - 
German - 
Dutch - 
Danish - 
Spanish - 
Latin - 
Italian - 
Hebrew - 
Greek - 
Syriac - 
Swedish - 
Prussian - 
Kussian - 
Armenian, "J 

Malay, an d > As man > r C0 P ies aS Can be P rocurecL 
Arabic, J 

Attached to the Bibliotheca Biblica is a 
Translation Library, containing books for 
the use of the Translators of the Scriptures, 
As this Library is not complete, many of the 
necessary works not being procurable m India, 
a list of the volumes required will be published ; 
n the hope that learned bodies and individuals 
having duplicates, will be pleased to present 
them to the Bibliotheca Biblica in Bengal 



Old and New. Test. 


New Test. 


2000 


2000 


2000 


2000 


soa 


50Q 


500 




500 




500 




200 




100 


100 


100 


100 






100 


100 




10Q 


50 




50 




sa 





33tbitotl)eca MbUm. 253 

This institution was first organized by the 
Hev. Mr. Brown, with a full reliance on the 
patronage of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, which has cordially embraced his views, 
and of the Society for promoting Christian 
Knowledge, and of the Universities in the 
United Kingdom, which we hope will enrich its 
Translation Library. 

The Rev. David Brown, Senior Chaplain of 
the East-India Company in Bengal, formerly of 
Magdalen College, Cambridge, has now been 
twenty-seven years resident in India; and is the 
zealous promoter of Sacred Learning in the East. 
He is educating his three sons in India, solely 
with the view of qualifying them for the impor- 
tant purpose of extending the knowledge of 
Christianity in Asia. Being himself a Hebrew 
scholar, his first object has been to ground them 
well in the Hebrezv and Syriac Languages; 
ri 8' htl y judging that a knowledge of these forms 
the best foundation for ability to produce 
accurate translations of the Scriptures in the 
ether Oriental Tongues. But they have now 
added to these first languages the Arabic, Per- 
sian, and Hindosta?iee, which they pronounce 
like natives of the East. They have had the 
advantage of the best teachers in the different 
languages, particularly of Shalom, an eminent 



Ci)rt0ttan i&eseattljes 



Hebrew scholar from Arabia. So that this little 
Institution in Mr. Brown's house, may be called 
the Hebrew School in Bengal. 

It is understood to be Mr. Brown's intention 
to send his three sons to England, at the proper 
age, to finish their education at the University, 
and to enter the Church ; with the view of their 
returning to exercise their ministrations in India, 
Mr. Brown himself has now seen two or three 
generations pass away in Calcutta, (how short 
is a Calcutta generation !) and has exhibited to 
a large and refined society the doctrine and the 
example of a faithful minister of the Gospel. 
Marquis Cornwallis first recommended him to 
the Court of Directors as a proper person to 
fill his present important situation, and this he 
did from a personal knowledge of his truly 
upright and disinterested character. In the many 
Governments which have succeeded, there is 
not one, as the Author believes, which has not 
recorded a public testimony to the merits of 
their Senior Chaplain. Marquis Wellesley, in 
particular, honoured him with his confidence 
and esteem, to the end of his administration. 
It was under the auspices of that Nobleman, 
that Mr. Brown instituted the " Calcutta Cha- 
ritable Fund for distressed Europeans and 
others f of which it may be truly said, that it has 



xttfttting t|>e 9temen(an& $55 

been a Fountain of Mercy to thousands in Bengal 
for ten years past, it having been established in 
the first year of the new century.* Mr. Brown 
would have probably returned from India with 
his large family by this time, but his diffusive 
benevolence in private charity, and in public 
undertakings, both in India and England, and 
the frequent demands on a man in his public 
station, he being at the head of the Church in 
Bengal, have not permitted him to increase his 
fortune suitably. And now, the prospect which 
opens to his view of being more extensively use- 
ful than before, in encouraging translations of 
the Scriptures, in promoting the objects of the 
Bible Society, and in educating his sons for the 
Oriental Church, makes him willing to remain a 
few years longer in India. 



THE ARMENIANS. 

A learned author, in a work published about 
the beginning of the last century, entitled " The 



* This Institution not only assists occasionally, but pensions 
permanently, Europeans, Mahomedans, and Hindoos, 



£56 ei)tfetum meseattijes 



" Light of the Gospel, rising on all nations? oh- 
" serves that the Armenian Christians will be emi~ 
i* nently qualified for the office of extending the 
" knowledge of Christianity throughout the na- 
tions of Asia."* This is undoubtedly true. Next 
to the Jews, the Armenians will form the most gene- 
rally useful body of Christian Missionaries. They 
are to befound in every principal city of Asia; they 
are the general merchants of the East, and are in a 
state of constant motion from Canton to Con- 
stantinople. Their general character is that of a 
wealthy, industrious, and enterprising people. 
They are settled in all the principal places of 
India, where they arrived many centuries before 
the English. Wherever they colonize, they build 
Churches, and observe the solemnities of the 
Christian Religion in a decorous manner. Their 
Ecclesiastical Establishment in Hindostan is 
more respectable than that of the English. Like 
us, they have three Churches in the three capitals, 
one at Calcutta, one at Madras, and one at 
Bombay ; but they have also Churches in the 
interior of the country .| The Bishop sometimes 



* Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. 651. 
f In Bengal alone, they have Churches at Dacca, Sydalad, 
and Chinsurak. 



meeting m atnnenians. 25; 

visits Calcutta ; but lie is not resident there. 
The proper country of these Christians is Arme- 
nia, the greater part of which is subject to the 
Persian Government; but they are scattered all 
over the Empire, the commerce of Persia being 
chiefly conducted by Armenians. Their Pa- 
triarch resides at Erivan, not far from Mount 
Ararat. 

The history of the Armenian Church is very 
interesting. Of all the Christians in central Asia 
they have preserved themselves most free from 
Mahomedan and Papal corruptions. The Pope 
assailed them for a time with great violence, but 
with little effect. The Churches in lesser Ar- 
menia indeed consented to an union which did 
not long continue ; but those in Persian Arme- 
nia maintained their independence ; and they 
retain their ancient Scripture, doctrines, and 
worship, to this day. <f It is marvellous," says 
an intelligent traveller, who was much among 
them, " how the Armenian Christians have pre- 
" served their faith equally against the vexa- 
u tious oppression of the Mahomedans their 
" Sovereigns, and against the persuasions of 
" the Romish Church, which for more than two 
" centuries has endeavoured, by Missionaries, 
" Priests, and Monks, to attach them to her 
(i Communion. It is impossible to describe the 

s 



258 e&rfetiMt Eeseatcfjes 

« artifices and expences of the Court of Rome, 
" to effect this object ; but all in vain."* 

The Bible was translated into the Armenian 
Language in the fifth century, under very auspi- 
cious circumstances, the history of which has 
come down to us. It has been allowed, by com- 
petent judges of the language, to be a most 
faithful translation. La Croze calls it « The 
Queen of Versions."! This Bible has ever re- 
mained in the possession of the Armenian peo- 
ple ; and many illustrious instances of genuine 
and enlightened piety occur in their history. 
The manuscript copies not being sufficient for 
the demand, a council of Armenian Bishops as- 
sembled in 1662, and resolved to call in aid the 
art of Printing, of which they had heard in 
Europe. For this purpose they applied first to 
France, but the Catholic Church refused to print 
their Bible. At length it was printed at Am- 
sterdam in 1666, and afterwards two other edi- 
tions in 1668 and Since that time it has 



* Chardin,vol.II.p. 232. 

t Mr. Joannes Lassar, who is now making a version of th« 
Scriptures in the Chinese Language, in Bengal, is an Arme- 
nian Christian, and translates chiefly from the Armenian Bible. 
But he also understands English, and consults the Englisk 
veriion. 



reverting Hje armenfeiw. 259 

been printed at Venice. One of the editions 
which the Author has seen, is not inferior, 
in beauty of typography, to the English Bible. 
How far these editions might have supplied the 
Churches in Persia at that time, he does not 
know; but, at present, the Armenian Scriptures 
are very rare in that country, bearing no pro- 
portion to the Armenian population j and, in 
India, a copy is scarcely to be purchased at any 
price. 

The Armenians in Hindostan are our own 
subjects. They acknowledge our government 
in India, as they do that of the Sophi in Persia; 
and they are entitled to our regard. They have 
preserved the Bible in its purity- and their 
doctrines are, as far as the Author knows, the 
doctrines of the Bible. Besides, they maintain 
the solemn observance of Christian worship, 
throughout our Empire, on the seventh day; 
and they have as many spires pointing to heaven 
among the Hindoos, as we ourselves. Are such 
a people then entitled to no acknowledgment 
on our part, as fellow-Christians? Are they for 
ever to be ranked by us with Jews, Maliome- 
dans, and Hindoos?"* Would it not become 



* Sarkies Joannes, an Armenian merchant of Calcutta, 
When he heard of the King's recovery from illness, in } 7 $o } 



260 Cijrtsttan r&tmtti)tz. 

us to approach nearer to these our subjects, 
endeavour to gain their confidence, and con- 
ciliate their esteem ? Let us, at least, do that 
which is easily practicable. We are in posses- 
sion of the means of printing, which they have 
not. Let us print the Armenian Bible, and 
employ proper persons from among themselves 
to superintend the work, and encourage them 
to disperse their own faithful copy throughout 
the East. Let us shew them, that the diffusion 
of the Scriptures is an undertaking to which we 
are not indifferent; and, by our example, let 
us stimulate their zeal, which is very languid. 
But, however languid their zeal may be, it is 
certain that they consider the English as being 
yet more dead to the interests of religion, than 
themselves. Such a subject as this, indeed 
every subject which is of great importance to 
Christianity, is worthy the notice of our Go- 
vernment, as well as of individuals and so- 
cieties. The printing press, which shall be 



liberated all the prisoners for debt in the gaol of Calcutta. 
His Majesty, hearing of this instance of . loyalty in an Arme- 
nian subject, sent him his pictnre in miniature Sarkies wore 
the Royal present suspended at his breast, durmg h.s We , 
a „d it is now worn by his son, when he appears at the levee 
of the Governor-general. 



Dottrmes of i&ebetattotu 261 



employed in multiplying copies of the pure 
Armenian Bible, will prove a rich and precious 
fountain for the evangelization of the East; 
and the Oriental Bible Repository, at Calcutta, 
will be a central and convenient place for its 
dispersion. 



VESTIGES 

OP THE 

DOCTRINES OF REVELATION IN 
THE EAST. 

In passing through the regions of the East, 
and surveying the various religious systems 
which prevail, the mind of the Christian travel- 
ler cannot fail to be impressed with the strong 
resemblance which some of them bear to doc- 
trines which are familiar to him. However 
varied or disguised they may be, there are yet 
some strong lines, which constantly recall his 
thoughts to the doctrines of revelation, and 
seem to point to a common origin. 

The chief and distinguishing doctrines of 
Scripture may be considered the four follow- 



£«i Christian mmtfiyts* 

jng; viz. The Trinity in Unity; the Incarna- 
tion of the Deity; a Vicarious Atonement for 
Sin ; and the influence of the Divine Spirit on 
the mind of man. Now if we should be able 
to prove, that all these are represented in the 
systems of the East, will any man venture to 
affirm that it happens by chance ? 

1. The doctrine of the Trinity. The Hin-. 
dpos believe in one God, Brahma; and yet they 
represent him as subsisting in three persons ; 
and they worship one or other of these persons in 
every part of India.* And what proves distinctly 
that they hold this doctrine is, that their most 
ancient representations of the Deity is formed 
of one body, and three faces. The most remark- 
able of these is that at the caves of Elephanta, 
in an island near Bombay. The author visited 
it in the year 1808; nor has he seen any work 
of art in the East, which he contemplated with 
greater wonder : whether considered with re- 
spect to its colossal size, its great antiquity, 
the beauty of the sculpture, or the excellence 



* Le comraun des lndiens rf adore qu'une seule de ces trois 
divinites : mais quelques Savans addressent encore leurs prieres 
€C aux trois reunis. — II y a meme des Temples entierement 
te consacres a cette espece de Trinile j" (such as Pei'penad in 
Travancore.) Sonnerat, Vol J, 151. 



Dorttmes of Eebrtatton, 263 



of the preservation. From causes which can- 
not now be known, the Hindoos have long ceas- 
ed to worship at this Temple. Each of the 
faces ©f the Triad is about five feet in length. 
The whole of the statue, and the spacious Tem- 
ple which contains it, is cut out of the solid 
rock of the mountain. The Hindoos assign 
to these works an immense antiquity, and attri- 
bute the workmanship to the Gods. The Tem- 
ple of Elephanta is certainly one of the wonders 
of the world, and is, perhaps, a grander effort 
of the ingenuity of man, than the Pyramids of 
Egypt * 



* Extract of a letter from the Author to W. T. Money, Esq, 
Bombay. 

" Honourable Company's Ship Charlton, 
off Goa, Feb. 26, 1808. 

"Dear Sir, 

<e When I visited the Elephanta last week, and compared it 
with the accounts of former travellers, I perceived that the ex- 
cavated temple and figures were in a state of progressive dila- 
pidation ; and it seems to me probable, that when a few more 
pillars shall have fallen in, the whole excavation will be over- 
whelmed in the ruin of the super-incumbent mountain. If I 
may offer an opinion on the means of preservation which are 
practicable; I would suggest, 



264 Cjjrfettan iReseattljeg, 

Whence then have the Hindoos derived the 
idea of a Triune God? It should seem as if 



f( That the dilapidated pillars be rebuilt entire of hewn stones 
in three blocks, of granite of the mountain, after the original 
model j the decayed bases of the columns, still standing, to be 
strongly cased with the same stone ; and the broken limbs of 
the figures to be restored, after the authority of the drawings 
and descriptions of the first travellers. The floor to be cleared 
of rubbish, which, in some places, is two foot deep, that the 
continuity of the rock with the bases of the columns, may 
appear. 

" The modern wall, inclosing the front, to be taken down, 
to throw more light on the body of the place, and a slight 
railing substituted at a greater distance. 

" Steps to be cut in the rock for easy descent to the cold 
well of sweet water. The jungle in front of the cave, and 
about its edges, to be cleared, and the aperture of the moun- 
tain, on each side, enlarged, to give more air and light. 

" The old Elephant himself on the side of the hill, to be 
renewed, and a young elephant placed on his back, agreeably 
to the first drawings. These drawings I can send you from 
Europe, if you cannot procure them in India. 

" And, lastly, an appropriate building to be erected on the 
sea side, for the accommodation of visitors. Here may be de- 
posited, for the immediate reference of travellers, those vo- 
lumes which contain the notices and opinions of the learned, 
concerning Elephanta. This building might be occupied by the 
military guard, which the Bombay government has recently sta- 
tioned on the island to preserve the cavern from further injury. 

" Other improvements will suggest themselves to you on the 
spot. To preserve to future ages this grand monument of an- 
cient sculpture, (the worship of which has been long relin- 



£>octrmes of mebeiatton, 9,65 

they had heard of the Elohim of revelation in 
the first chapter of Genesis, " Let us make 
man."'* 

2. The doctrine of the Incarnation of the 
Deity. The Hindoos believe that one of the 
persons in their Trinity (and that too the second 
person) was " manifested in the flesh." Hence 
their fables of the Avatars, or Incarnations of 
Vishnoo. And this doctrine is found over 
almost the whole of Asia. Whence then origi- 
nated this idea " that God should become man 



quished) is, I think, a commendable undertaking. Every Chris- 
tian traveller can assign a reason for wishing that emblem of 
a Trinity in Unity existing in an ancient heathen nation, should 
remain entire during the ages of the world." 

* It certainly cannot be proved that the Triad at Elephanta 
is older than the Christian era. And if it be older we are yet 
to consider that the Mosaic records brought down the notion of a 
Trinity from the earliest ages. The modern Jews contend 
against this fact, that they may not seem to countenance an ar- 
gument for the truth of Christianity ; but if they will read their 
own Targums, they will see that their forefathers confessed it ; 
as in the following instance. « Come and behold the mystery 
" of the word Elohim. There are three degrees, and each de- 
u gree is sole. Notwithstanding they are One j and are uni- 
ted into one 5 nor is one of them divided from another." 

R. SIMEON BEN JOCHAI, 
In Zohar ad sext. Levit. sectionem. 



266 djr&ttau Eesearcijes, 



and take our nature upon him The Hindoos 
do not consider that it was an Angel merely 
that became man (like some Philosophers in 
Europe) but God himself. Can there be any 
doubt that the fabulous Incarnations of the 
eastern mythology are derived from the real 
Incarnation of the Son of God, or from the 
prophecies that went before it ? Jesus the Mes~ 
siah is the true AVATAR. 

3. The doctrine of a vicarious Atonement 
for sin, by the shedding of blood. — To this day 
in Hindostan, the people bring the goat or kid 
to the Temple, and the Priest sheds the blood 
of the innocent victim.* Nor is this peculiar 



* The inhabitants of Calcutta have a frequent opportunity 
of seeing the headless and bloody kid carried on the shoulders 
of the offerer through the streets, after having been sacrificed 
at the Temple of Kalee, at Kalee Qhaut. Kalee is the god- 
dess of destruction, she is Hack in visage, and has a necklace 
composed of the sculls of men. Kalee is the goddess whom 
the Decoits (professional robbers in India) propitiate by 
sacrifice and offering, before they go out on their nocturnal 
depredations, f 



-J About the year 1799, a handsome sword was presented by 
the supreme Government in Bengal to Mahmud Nazir, a Da- 
rogah, in the district of Dinagepore, for his service in ap»- 



Doctrines of iRetoelattom $67 

to Hindostan ; throughout the whole East, the 
doctrine of a sacrifice for sin seems to exist in 
one form or other. Ever since " Abel offered 



It was a custom for the chief magistrate of police, in Cal- 
cutta, (an English officer) to go out of the city in procession 
with the Hindoos, on a certain day every year, to Kalee Ghaut 
The Author will not assert, that he went out "to make an 
-offering to the Goddess or her Priests, in the name of the 
English government," because he never witnessed it. Nor 
^villhesaymore on the subject: because he has not heard 
whether it be now a custom. It is unjust that the character 
of the present government should suffer from the latitude in 
religious notions of some of the first governors. 

It was also the custom for many of the English in Calcutta 
to accept of invitations from the Hindoos, to be present at the 
Nautch, or dance, at the Festival of the Doorga Poojah, cele- 
brated in honour of their God DOORGA. At these Nautches, 
the Idol, gorgeously arrayed, is placed on his throne, and everj 
body is supposed to bow in passing the throne. Groups of 
dancing girls dance before the God, accompanied by various 
music, and sing songs and hymns to his honour and glory. 
The English are accommodated with seats to look on. We 

prehendingagangof robbers, some of whom were killed on 
the spot. After the apprehension, the scene of their depre- 
dations was visited by The*. Parr, Esq. magistrate of the 
district, in company with his assistant, William Cnnninghame, 
Esq. now of Lainshaw, Ayrshire. When they arrived at the 
place of their retreat, -a temple of the Hindoo Goddess 
« Kalee was pointed out to them, where the gang were 
" accustomed to propitiate the Goddess, before they issued 
I 1 forth on their nocturnal errands of plunder and blood/ 3 



s68 eftrtsttei Eesearcl)e0 < 



unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain;" 
ever since Noah, the father of the new world, 
" offered burnt offerings on the altar; 1 ' sacrifices 
have been offered up in almost every nation, as 
if for a constant memorial to mankind that 
<c without shedding of blood, there is no remis- 
" sion of sin." Heb. ix. 22. 

4. The influence of the Divine Spirit on 
the minds of men. In the most ancient writ- 
ings of the Hindoos, some of which have been 
published, it is asserted that " the divine spirit, 
or light of holy knowledge," influences the 
minds of men. And the man who is the sub- 
ject of such influence is called " the man twice 
born." Many chapters are devoted to the du- 



would not insinuate that any of the English bow to the Idol $ 
and we shall suppose that those who attend the ceremony, do 
it without thought, being merely swayed by the fashion of the 
place, and unconscious of any thing wrong. But we would 
suggest a doubt whether the custom of accepting such invi- . 
tations (which are generally on printed cards) should be con- 
tinued at the seat of the supreme Government. Such liberties 
might be very innocent if the Christian Religion were not true. 
But it is the duty of a Christian people dwelling amongst Idola- 
ters to beware lest their actions should be misinterpreted j for it 
is very possible that their polite acquiescence in being ceremoni- 
ously seated in the presence of the God, and witnessing the 
honours paid to him, may be considered by some of the igno- 
rant Hindoos, as a tacit approbation of their worship. 



Doctrtuea of JRetielatton. 269 



ties, character, and virtues of " the man twice 
born." 

Other doctrines might be illustrated by simi- 
lar analogies. The characters of the Mosaic 
ceremonial law pervade the whole system of the 
Hindoo ritual and worship. Now, if these 
analogies were merely partial or accidental, 
they would be less important : but they are not 
accidental, as every man who is erudite in the 
holy Scriptures, and in oriental mythology, 
well knows. They are general and systematic. 
Has it ever been alleged that the Light of 
Nature could teach such doctrines as those 
which we have above enumerated? Some of 
them are contrary to the Light of Nature. 
Every where in the East there appears to be a 
counterfeit of the true doctrine. The inhabi- 
tants have lost sight of the only true God, and 
they apply their traditional notions to false 
Gods. These doctrines are unquestionably 
relics of the first faith of the earth ; they bear the 
strong characters of God's primary revelation to 
man, which neither the power of man, nor time 
itself, hath been able to destroy ; but which have 
endured from age to age, like the works of na- 
ture, the moon and stars, which God hath 
created, incorruptible. 



270 e&r&ttan iaeseatcDes, 



ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENT 

FOR 

BRITISH INDIA. 

Before the Author left India, he published 
a " Memoir of the Expediency of an Ecclesias- 
" tical Establishment for our Empire in the 
East." The design of that work was first sug- 
gested to him by Dr. Porteus, late Bishop of 
London, who had attentively surveyed the state 
of our dominions in Asia ; and he was encouraged 
by subsequent communications with the Mar- 
quis Wellesley, to endeavour to lead the atten- 
tion of the nation to the subject. That publi- 
cation has now been five years before the public, 
and many volumes have been written on the 
various subjects which it contains ; but he does 
not know that any objection has been made to 
the principle of an Ecclesiastical Establishment 
for Christians in India. An attempt has been 
made indeed to divert the attention from the 
true object, and, instead of considering it as an 
establishment for Christians, to set it forth as 
an establishment for instructing the Hindoos- 



©cctestasttcat ©stablfefwent, 271 

But the instruction of the Hindoos is entirely 
a distinct consideration, as was carefully noted 
in the Memoir. At the end of the first part is 
the following paragraph : 

" It will be remembered, that nothing which 
" has been observed is intended to imply that 
" any peculiar provision should be made imme- 
" diately for the instruction of the natives. 
" Any expensive establishment of this kind, 
" however becoming our national character, or 
U obligatory on our principles, cannot possibly 
" be organized to efficient purpose, without the 
" aid of a local Church. Let us first establish 
" our own religion amongst ourselves, and our 
<! Asiatic subjects will soon benefit by it. When 
" once our national Church shall have been 
" confirmed in India, themembers of that Church 
" will be the best qualified to advise the state, 
" as to the means by which, from time to time, 
" the civilization of the natives may be pro- 
C£ moted."* 

An Ecclesiastical Establishment would yet be 
necessary for British India, if there were not a 
Mahomedan or Hindoo in the land. For, besides 
the thousands of British Christians, who live 
and die in that country, there are hundreds of 



* Memoir, p. 20. 



272 eijtfsttan iaeseat:ci)e& 

thousands of native Christians, who are at this 
moment " as sheep without a shepherd and 
who are not insensible to their destitute estate, 
but supplicate our countenance and protection. 
Surely the measure cannot be contemplated by 
the Legislature, for a moment, without perceiv- 
ing its absolute propriety on the common prin- 
ciples of justice and humanity. 

In regard to the other subject, the instruction 
of the Hindoos, many different opinions have 
been delivered in the volumes alluded to, the 
most prominent of which are the two following: 
First, that Hinduism is, upon the whole, as good 
as Christianity, and that therefore conversion to 
Christianity is not necessary. This deserves no 
reply. The second opinion is, that it is indeed a 
sacred duty to convert the Hindoos, but that 
we must not do it by force. With this opinion 
the Author perfectly coincides. To convert 
men by any other means than those of persua- 
sion, is a practice fit only for the Inquisition, 
and completely at variance with the tenor of 
every page which he has written. The means 
of conversion, which he has recommended, are 
those which are appointed in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, namely, " Preaching, and the Word of 
God." The first and present means are the 
translation of the Word of God into the various 



Crctoiasttcal estMttymtnt 273 

languages ; and the next are the labours of teach- 
ers and preachers. 

The Author is not, nor has he ever been, the 
advocate for force and personal injury toward 
the Hindoos. No : he pleads the cause of hu- 
manity. The object of his Work, and of his 
Researches, has been to deliver the people of 
Hindostan from painful and sanguinary rites ; 
to rescue the devoted victim From the wheels 
of Moloch's Tower; to snatch the tender infant 
from the jaws of the alligator; and from the 
murderous hands of the more unnatural mother; 
to save the aged parent from premature death in 
the Ganges by the unnatural son ; to extin- 
guish the flames of the female sacrifice, and 
to " cause the widow's heart to sing for joy.* 

Another object of his Work has been, to shew, 
that while the feelings of the Christian are pain- 
fully affected by the exhibition of these suffer- 
ings and atrocities, Infidelity, oh the other hand, 
can behold them, and does behold them, with 
all the coldness and apathy of Voltaire. And 
this is the great practical triumph of Christia- 
nity over philosophical unbelief. While by the 
former, the best feelings of our nature are melio- 
rated, and improved, and softened, and extend- 
ed; they become by the influence of the latter, 
sullen, and cold, and torpid, and dead 



£74 



Christian EeseareljcsL 



The remaining opinion on this subject, which 
is worthy of notice, is the following : " The 
" conversion of the Hindoos to Christianity is 
" indeed a solemn obligation, if practicable : 
" but the attempt may possibly displease the 
" Hindoos, and endanger our Empire." This 
fear is grounded solely on an ignorance of facts, 
and on the remoteness of the scene. Christia- 
nity began to be preached to Hindoos by Euro- 
peans, 300 years ago, and whole provinces are 
now covered with Christians. In the present 
endeavours of Protestant Missionaries, the chief 
difficulty which they generally experience is to 
awaken the mind of the torpid Hindoos to the 
subject. They know that every manmaychuse 
the religion he likes best, and profess it with' 
impunity ; and that he may lose his cast and 
buy a cast again, as he buys an article of mer- 
chandize. There arc a hundred casts of reli- 
gion in Hindostan; and there is no common in- 
terest about a particular religion. When one 
native meets another on the road, he seldom ex- 
pects to find that he is of the same cast with 
himself. They are a divided people. Hindos- 
tan is like the great world in miniature ; when, 
you pass a great river or lofty mountain, you 
generally find a new variety. Some persons in 
Europe think it must be a novelty to the Hin- 



Ctcle«tcatestaWfei)ment m 

doos to see a Missionary. There have been for 
ages past, numerous casts of Missionaries in 
Hindostan, Pagan, Mahomedan, and Christian, 
all seeking to proselyte individuals to a new 
religion, or to some new sect of an old one. The 
difficulty, as was before observed, in regard 
to the Protestant Teachers, is to awaken atten- 
tion to their doctrine.* 

The general indifference of the natives to 
these attempts, whether successful or not, has 
been demonstrated by recent events. After the 
adversaries of Christian Missions had circulated 
their pamphlets through British India, (with the 
best intention no doubt, according to their 



^ * In fact, there is scarcely one point in their mythological 
" religion that the whole race of Hindus have faith in. There 
« are sectaries and schismatics without end, who will believe 
" only certain points that others abjure : individuals of those 
« sects dissent from the doctrines believed by the majority - 
" other philosophical sceptics will scarcely believe any thin* 
" m opposition to their easy-faithed brethren, who disbelieve 
" nothing. Hence may, in part, be discerned the liability 
'i under which inquirers labour, of being misled by sectaries 
* mt ° receivi »g schism as orthodoxy, and of forming general 
ff conclusions from individual or partial information. But, in 

« f3Ct ' there iS NO GENERAL ORTHODOXY AMONG Hindoo's " 

*ee the Hindoo Pantheon, p. 180, by Edward Moor, Esa 
K. R. S. published in 1810. 



T 2 



276 Cfjrfetten mesearrt)e& 

judgment,) announcing the intelligence that 
some of the English wanted to convert the 
inhabitants by force, and to blow Hindostan 
into a flame; the natives seem to have consider- 
ed the information as absurd or unintelligible, 
and to have treated it with contempt. For 
immediately afterwards, when, by the defection 
of the British troops, the foundations of our 
empire were shaken to their centre, both Ma- 
homedans and Hindoos (who, if they wished to 
rebel, needed only to sound that trumpet which 
was first sounded by a Senior Merchant in 
Leadenhall-street, no doubt with the best in- 
tentions) evinced their accustomed loyalty, 
and crowded round the standard of the Supreme 
Government in the hour of danger* 



* A worthy Clergyman belonging to the Presidency of Fort 
St. George, who witnessed the troops marching against each 
other, and knew not for a time what would be the fate of the 
Empire} after the danger was over, makes the following most 
just and striking reflection, in a letter to a friend. « It cannot 

but have occurred to every reflecting mind, in looking back 
« on past scenes, if it had pleased God in his providence to have 
" dispossessed us of our dominions, how little would have 
« remained to shew, that a people blessed with the light of the 
« glorious Gospel of Christ, had once borne sway in this land ! 
« But now," (he adds exultingly, in allusion to the Translation 
of the Scriptures) "the Word of God in the languages of all 



ecclesiastical eataMtsljment 277 

There is one argument for the expediency of 
an Ecclesiastical Establishment, which the Au- 
thor did not insist on strongly in the Memoir, 
from motives of delicacy : but recent events 
have rendered the same reserve no longer neces- 
sary. He will proceed therefore to disclose 
a fact which will serve to place the motives for 
recommending such an establishment, in -their 
just light.— It is not the giving the Christian 
Religion to the natives which will endanger our 
Empire, but the want of religion among our ozvn 
countrymen. After the disturbance among the 
cets in Bengal 

m 1794, which for a 
time had a most alarming aspect, being of the 
same character with that which took place lately 
at Madras, a Memorial was presented to the 
Marquis Wellesley, on his accession to the go- 
vernment, by persons who had been long in 
the service of the Company, and who were well 
acquainted with the circumstances of the Em- 
pire at large; representing the necessity of a 
" suitable Religious Establishment for British 
India;" and illustrating that necessity by the 
events which had recently taken place in the 



<c India, will be an enduring Monument of British Piety and 
" Liberality, for which the sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiv- 
S? ing will ascend to the Most high, to the latest generations/' 



#i Ci)rtstian Kesearc|ie& 

army. That Memorial referred to the almost 
total extinction of Christian worship, at the 
military stations, where the seventh clay was 
only distinguished by the British Flag ; and 
noticed the fatal consequences that might b§ 
expected from large bodies of men, far remote 
from the controlling power of the parent state, 
enjoying luxury and independence, and seeing 
nothing, from youth to age, of the religion of 
their country. It shewed further, that, of the 
whole number of English who go to India, not 
a tenth part return ; and assigned this fact as a 
reason why their religion should follow them to 
the East; that it might be, in the first place, a 
solace to themselves, in the dreary prospect of 
dying in that land (for of a thousand soldiers in 
sickly India, there will be generally a hundred 
in declining health ;) and secondly, " that it 
" might be some security for their loyalty to 
" their king, and their attachment to the prin- 
**' ciples of their country/ 

It required not a Memorial to apprize Marquis 
Wellesley of the truth of these facts, or of the 
justness of the reasoning upon them. The ne- 
cessity of a meliorated state of existence for the 
English armies, was made evident to him by 
his own observation : and it cannot be doubted 
that, had that Nobleman remained in India, to 



ecclesiastical establishment, 279 



complete the plans which he meditated for the 
advantage of that country, and had his coadjutor, 
Mr. Pitt, lived, a suitable Religious Establish- 
ment would have been, by this time, proposed 
to the East-India Company, for every part of 
their dominions in Hindostan. But Marquis 
Wellesley had another and a more imperious 
service first to perform, and that was, to save 

THE BODY OF THE EMPIRE ITSELF. British 

Hindostan was, at that moment, surrounded 
by strong and formidable enemies, who were 
putting themselves « in the attitude of the 
tiger," as a Vakeel of Tippoo expressed it, " to 
leap upon the prey." And this service that 
great Statesman achieved under Divine Provi- 
dence, first, by destroying the Mysorean Em- 
pire, under Tippoo Sultaun, and thereby ex- 
tinguishing the Mahomedan power in Hin- 
dostan ; secondly, by overwhelming the 
hitherto invincible Mahrattas ; and lastly, by 
forming on the frontier a league of strength, 
which, like a wall of iron, has saved the country 
from native invasion ever since: notwithstanding 
its subsequent critical and exposed state, in 
consequence of frequent changes of the Supreme 
Government, and of dissensions in our army. 
The services which that Nobleman performed 
for our Empire in the East were very ill under* 



2 so Christian Kesearcljes, 



stood at the time ; his views were so compre- 
hensive, that few men could embrace them ; 
■ — They are more generally acknowledged now ; 
but it is to be apprehended that some years 
must yet elapse, before all the beneficial conse- 
quences of his administration will be fully made 
known to his country. 

It has been a subject of wonder to many in 
England, that our army should at any time 
betra}' symptoms of disaffection in India when 
no instance of it occurs elsewhere. But the 
surprise will cease, when the circumstances 
before mentioned shall have been duly weighed. 
Of the individuals engaged in the late disturb- 
ances at Madras, there were perhaps some, who 
had not witnessed the service of Christian wor- 
ship for twenty years ; whose minds were im- 
pressed by the daily view of the rites of the 
Hindoo religion, and had lost almost all me- 
mory of their own. It is morally impossible to 
live long in such circumstances, without being 
in some degree affected by them. That loyalty 
is but little to be depended on, whether abroad 
or at home, which has lost the basis of religion. 

The true spring of the irregular proceeding, 
contemptuous remonstrance, and ultimate disaf- 
fection of the military in India, is this : Large 
bodies of troops at a great distance from 8ti-» 



ecclestasttcai esfaWt^ment 2si 

tain, which they never expect to see again, be- 
gin, after a long absence, to feel more sensibly 
their own independence, while their affection 
for their native country gradually diminishes. 
And if, under such circumstances, they have 
not the restraints of religion, (for what is obe- 
dience " to the powers that be" but the restraint 
of religion?) and if they have not the frequent 
view-of Christian worship to recal their minds, 
by association of ideas, to the sacred ordinances 
and principles of their country, it is impossible 
to foresee to what degrees of rebellion or infatu- 
ation they may proceed. It is unjust to ascribe 
these proceedings to the casual acts of the Go- 
vernor for the time being. Indiscreet measures 
on his part may form the pretext ; but the true 
cause lies much deeper. The Company's Offi- 
cers in India are as honourable a body of military 
men us are to be found in the world ; the Author 
knows them, but they are in peculiar circum- 
stances ; and if any other description of troops 
were in their stead, passing a whole life in 
such an unchristianizing service, the same causes 
would still produce the same effects. 

The mostalarming consideration, while things 
remain in their present state, is this, that, in pro- 
portion as our empire increases, and our force in 
India grows stronger, the danger arising from 



£82 



Cljrttttan i&tmvttyz. 



the foregoing causes becomes the greater. 
These are obvious truths, on which it is not ne- 
cessary to dilate. But there is another subject 
allied to this, which the Author thinks it a 
solemn duty to bring before the public. 

Not only are our troops denied suitable reli- 
gious instruction, when they arrive in India, but 
they are destitute of it, during their long voyage 
to that country. The voyage is, on an average, 
six months. Now, provision ought certainly to 
be made for Divine worship, and for spiritual 
consolation to the soldiers, during that period : 
for it is sometimes a period of great sickness, and 
of frequent death. Indeed, there ought to be a 
Chaplain on board of every India ship contain- 
ing; one hundred souls.* 



* The East-India Company require the Commander or Pur- 
ser of every ship to read prayers on Sunday, when the wea- 
ther permits. The service is performed, in many cases, in a 
serious and truly impressive manner ; and the acknowledged 
good effects in such cases, convey the strongest recommendation 
of the measure which has been proposed. One important duty 
of the Chaplain of an Indiaman might be, to superintend the 
studies of the young Writers and Cadets proceeding to India ; 
who for want of some direction of this kind, generally pass the 
long voyage in idleness, lounging on the quarter deck, or 
gambling in the cuddy. So important has this subject been 
considered, that, during the administration of Marquis Welles- 
ley, a detailed' plan for carrying the proposed measure into 



They who believe in the Christian Religion, 
profess also to believe in the superintending 
providence of God ; and are taught to hope 
that the divine blessing will accompany those 
designs which are undertaken in his name, and 
conducted in his fear. If we were « a heathen 
nation," then might we send forth ourfleets with- 
out a prayer, and commit them, for a safe voy- 
age, " to goddess Fortune and fair winds." But 
we are a Christian nation, though not a super- 
stitious one; and, however individuals may con- 
sider it, it is certain that our countrymen in 
general view the performance of the offices of 
religion with great respect ; and that, in parti- 
cular circumstances on board ship, no duty is 
more acceptable, none more interesting, none 
more salutary, and consoling. Such scenes the 
Author himself has witnessed, and from those 
persons who have witnessed such scenes, he has 



effect was actually transmitted to a Member of the Court of 
Directors, to lay before the Court. If it were made an indis- 
pensable qualification of the Chaplain, that he should under- 
stand the rudiments of the Persian and Hindostanee Languages, 
and the common elements of geometry and navigation, for the' 
instruction of the Midshipmen, his services would be truly 
important, merely in his secular character. Every truly 
respectable commander in the Company's service, must be 
happy to have an exemplary Clergyman on board his ship, 



234 Christian !Hegearc|)e0. 

never heard but one opinion as to the pro- 
priety of having a Clergyman to form one 
of the great family in a ship, in these long, 
sickly, and perilous voyages. When the news 
arrived in England last year of the loss of the 
seven Indiamen in a distant ocean, how grati- 
fying would it have been to surviving friends, 
if they could have been assured that the offices 
of religion, and the consolations of its ministers, 
had been afforded to those who perished, during 
their last days ! These events have a warning 
voice ; and it is not unbecoming a great and re- 
spectable body of men, like the East-India Com- 
pany, to attend to it. The Legislature has not 
neglected a subject of this importance. It is 
required that every ship of the line should have 
a Chaplain ; and we have lately seen some of 
our most renowned Admirals, both before and 
after battle, causing the prayers and thanks- 
o-ivino-s of the fleet to ascend to the God of 
heaven. 

There still remains one topic more, to which 
the Author would advert. It may be presumed 
to be the wish of the major part of this nation, 
that whenever a Missionary of exemplary cha- 
racter, and of respectable recommendation, ap- 
plies to the East India Company for a passage 
to our Eastern shores, his request might be 



©cctestasttcal establishment* 285 

treated with indulgence. In him we export a 
blessing (as he may prove to be) to thousands 
of our fellow-creatures; and his example and 
instructions, and prayers, will do no harm to 
the ship in which he sails. While the East 
India Company retain the sole privilege of 
conveyance to India, the nation would be pleas- 
ed to see this condescension shewn to persons 
in humble circumstances, whose designs are of 
a public character, and acknowledged by all 
men to be pious and praise-worthy. The Au- 
thor will conclude these observations with a 
paragraph which he has found in a manuscript 
of the Rev. Mr. Kolhoff, of Tanjore, the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Swartz, which has been just 
transmitted for publication : 

" It is a remarkable fact, that since the foun- 
" dation of our Mission, which is now one 
" hundred years, and during which period 
u upwards of fifty Missionaries have arrived 
" from Europe ; among the many ships that 
" have been lost, there never perished one ves- 
sel, WHICH HAD A MISSIONARY ON BOARD."* 

The following Letter, written by Dr. Wat- 
son, Bishop of Llandaff, on the subject of 



* MS. materials for the Life of Swart?, 



286 christian Eeseardjes* 

an Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India, 
was published in Calcutta, in the year 1807. 

" Calgarth-Park, Kendal. 

MthMay, 1806. 

€i Reverend Sir, 

ee Some weeks ago I received your Memoir 
of the expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment 
for British India \ for which obliging attention I now 
return you my best thanks. I hesitated for some time 
whether I ought to interrupt your speculations with my 
acknowledgments for so valuable a present; but on 
being informed of the noble Premium, by which you 
purpose to exercise the talents of Graduates in the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge, I determined to express to you my 
admiration of your disinterestedness, and zeal in the cause 
of Christianity. 

" Twenty years and more have now elapsed since, 
in a Sermon, before the House of Liords, I hinted to the 
then government, the propriety of paying regard to the 
propagation of Christianity in India ; and I have since 
then, as fit occasions offered, privately, but unsuccess- 
fully, pressed the matter on the consideration of those in 
power. If my voice or opinion can, in future, be of any 
weight with the King's Ministers, I shall be most ready to 
exert myself, in forwarding any prudent measure for pro- 
moting a liberal Ecclesiastical Establishment in British 
India ; it is not without consideration that I say a liberal 
Establishment, because I heartily wish that every Chris- 
tian should be at liberty to worship God according to his 
conscience, and be assisted therein by a Teacher, at the 
public expence, of his own persuasion. 



u The subjects you have proposed for the work which 
shall obtain your Prize, are all of them judiciously chosen, 
and if properly treated (as my love for my Alma Mater 
persuades me they will be) may probably turn the thoughts 
of the Legislature towards the measure you recommend. 

"The Salutaris Lux Evangelii, by Fabricius, published 
at Hamburgh in 1731, will be of great use to the candi- 
dates for your Prize ; and his Index GeograpMcus Epis- 
copatuum Orbis Christiani, subjoined to that work, 
might, if accompanied with proper Notes, afford a very 
satisfactory elucidation of your third head. 

u God in his providence hath so ordered things, that 
America, which three hundred years ago was peopled by 
none but Pagans, has now many millions of Christians in 
it; and will not, probably, three hundred years hence, 
have a single Pagan in it, but be occupied by more 
Christians, and more enlightened Christians, than now 
exist in Europe. 

" Africa is not now worse fitted for the reception of 
Christianity than America was, when it was first visited 
by Europeans ; and Asia is much better fitted for it, 
in as much as Asia enjoys a considerable degree of 
civilization ; and some degree of it is necessary to the 
successful introduction of Christianity. The commerce 
and colonization of Christian states have civilized 
America, and they will, in process of time, civilize and 
christianize the whole earth. Whether it be a Christian 
duty to attempt, by lenient methods, to propagate the 
Christian religion among Pagans and Mahometans can 
be doubted, I think, by few; but whether any attempt 
Will be attended with much success, till Christianity m 
purified from its corruptions, and the lives of Christians 



£88 e&risttan Eesearci)e& 



are rendered correspondent to their Christian profession, 
may he doubted by many : but there certainly never was 
a more promising opportunity of trying the experiment 
of subverting Paganism in India, than that which has 
for some years been offered to the government of Great 
Britain. 

t « The morality of our holy religion is so salutary 
to civil society, its promises of a future state so con- 
solatory to individuals, its precepts so suited to the 
deductions of the most improved reason, that it must 
finally prevail throughout the world. Some have thought 
that Christianity is losing ground in Christendom. I am 
of a different opinion. Some ascititious doctrines, de- 
rived from Rome and Geneva, are losing ground amongst 
learned men ; some unchristian practices springing from 
ignorance, bigotry, intolerance, self-sufficiency of opinion, 
with uncharitableness of judgment, are losing ground 
among all sober-minded men; but a belief in Jesus Christ 
as the Saviour of the world, as the medium through 
whom eternal life will be given to all who obey his Gos- 
pel, is more and more confirmed every day in the minds 
of men of eminence and erudition, not only in this, but 
in every other Christian country. From this praise I 
am not disposed to exclude even France itself, notwith- 
standing the temporary apostasy of some of its philoso- 
phers from every degree of religious faith. I cannot but 
hope well of that country, when I see its National Insti- 
tute proposing for public discussion the following sub- 
ject ; ( What has been the influence of the reformation 
< of Luther, on the political situation of the different 
* states of Europe, and on the progress of knowledge ? s 
especially when I see the subject treated by Mr. Villars, 



in a manner which would have derived honour to the 
most liberal Protestant in the freest state in Europe. 

" It is not to be denied, that the morals of Christians 
In general fall far short of the standard of Christian 
perfection, and have ever done so, scarcely excepting 
the latter end of the first century. Yet, notwithstanding 
this concession, it is a certain fact, that the Christian 
religion has always operated to the production of piety, 
fjenevolence, self-government, and the love of virtue 
amongst individuals, in every country where it has been 
received ; and it will every where operate more power- 
fully, as it is received with more firm assurance of its 
truth ; and it will be every where received with morq 
firm assurance of its truth, as it is better understood ; 
for when it is properly understood, it will be freed from 
the pollutions of superstition and fanaticism among the 
hearers, and from ambition, domination, and secujarity 
among the teachers. 

" Your publication has given us in England a great 
insight into the state of Christianity in India, as well as 
into the general state of Learning amongst* you ; and it ' 
has excited in me the warmest wishes for the prosperity 
of the college of Fort- William. It is an Institution 
which would have done honour to the wisdom of Solon 
or Lycurgus. I have no knowledge personally of the 
Marquis Wellesley, but I shall think of him, and of his 
coadjutors in this undertaking, with the highest respect 
and admiration, as long as I live. 

" I cannot enter into any particulars relative to an 
Ecclesiastical Establishment in India; nor would it* 
perhaps, be proper to press government to take the 
matter into their consideration, till this country is freed 

U 



qqo e&rtetfan iaesearci)e& 



from the danger which threatens it: but I have that 
opinion of his Majesty's Ministers, that they will, not 
only from policy, but from a serious sense of religious 
duty, be disposed to treat the subject, whenever it comes 
before them, with great judgment and liberality. May 
God direct their counsels ! 

" 6 Our Empire in India/ said Mr. Hastings, c has 
been acquired by the sword, and must be maintained by 
the sword.' I cannot agree with him in this sentiment. 
All Empires have been originally acquired by violence, 
but they are best established by moderation and justice. 
There was a time when We shewed ourselves to the 
inhabitants of India in the character of tyrants and 
robbers ; that time, I trust, is gone for ever. The wisdom 
of British policy, the equity of its jurisprudence, the 
impartiality of its laws, the humanity of its penal code, 
and above all, the incorrupt administration of public 
justice, will, when they are well understood, make the 
Indians our willing subjects, and induce them to adopt 
a religion attended with such consequences to the, 
dearest interests of the human mind. They will rejoice 
in having exchanged the tyranny of Pagan superstition, 
and the despotism of their native princes, for the mild 
mandates of Christianity, and the stable authority of 
equitable laws. The difference between such different 
states of civil society, as to the production of human 
happiness, is infinite ; and the attainment of happiness 
is the ultimate aim of all individuals in all nations. 

" 1 am, Reverend Sir, 
K Your obliged and faithful Servant, 
« R. LLANDAFF. 
" To Rev. Dr. Buchanan, Pice-Provost 
« ef the College of Fort- William* Cakutta" 



(291 ) 



CONCLUSION. 



In the progress of these Researches the Au- 
thor has found his mind frequently drawn to 
consider the extraordinary difference of opinion, 
which exists among men of learning, in regard 
to the importance and obligation of communi- 
cating religious knowledge to our fellow-crea- 
tures. And he has often heard the question 
asked, What can be the cause of this discre- 
pancy of opinion? For that such a difference 
does exist is most evident. It is exemplified at 
this moment in some of the most illustrious 
characters for rank and learning, in the nation. 
This is a problem of a very interesting character 
at this day, and worthy of a distinct and ample 
discussion, particularly at our seats of learning. 
The problem may be thus expressed. « What 
" power is that, which produces in the minds 
" of some persons a real interest and concern 
" in the welfare of their fellow-creatures; 
" extending not only to the comfort of their 
" existence in this world, but to their felicity 
" hereafter; while other men who are apparently 
fl in similar circumstances, as to learning and 



v 2 



" information, do not feel inclined to move 
" one step for the promotion of such objects ? ,y 
The latter, it may be, can speculate on the 
philosophy of the human mind, on its great 
powers and high dignity, on the sublime virtue 
of universal benevolence, on the tyranny of 
superstition, and the slavery of ignorance; and 
will sometimes quote the verse of the poet. 
" Homo sum : HUMANI nil a me alienum puto 

but they leave it to others, and generally to the 
Christian in humble life, to exercise the spirit 
of that noble verse.— This is a very difficult 
problem ; and it has been alleged by some that 
it cannot be solved on any known principles of 
philosophy. The following relation will proba- 
bly lead to principles by which we may arrive 
at a solution. 

There was once a King in the East, whose 
empire extended over the known world, and his 
dominion " was to the end of the earth." Du- 
ring the former part of his reign, his heart was 
filled with pride ; he knew not the God of hea- 
ven; and he viewed with the utmost indiffe- 
rence the nations over whom he ruled, worship- 
ping idols of wood and stone. But it pleased 
theKing of kings to dethrone this haughty 



Conclusion, £93 

monarch, to cast him down from his high es- 
tate, and to abase him in the dust. And after 
he had been for a time in the furnace of affliction, 
and his proud heart was humbled, God gra- 
ciously revealed himself to him in his true 
name and character, and then restored him to 
his former prosperity and power. The peni- 
tent king thus once more exalted, and filled 
with admiration at the discovery of the only 
true God, immediately issued an edict to 
the whole world, setting forth the greatness 
of the Most High, asserting his glory, and 
inviting all nations to " praise and magnify 
" HIM that liveth for ever, whose dominion 
u is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom 
te is from generation to generation.*' This me- 
morable edict began in these sublime terms : 

" Nebuchadnezzar the King, unto all 
" people, nations, and languages, that 

u DWELL IN ALL THE EARTH, Peace be millti- 

" plied unto you. I thought it good to shew 
" the signs and wonders which the Most High 
" God hath wrought toward me. How great 
" are his signs I How mighty are his wonders F 
Having recounted the judgment and mercy of 
God to himself, he thus concludes^ " Now I 
" Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol, and honour 
(i the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth, 



394 €%vMim &tmvtl)ts. 

" and his ways judgment ; and them that walk 
" in pride he is able to abase."* 

Such a proclamation to the nations of the 
earth was a noble act of a king, and ought to 
be had in perpetual remembrance. It reminds 
us'Df the last charge of HIM " who ascended 
up on high:" Go, teach all nations. It 
discovers to us the new and extended benevo- 
lence, greatness of mind, and pure and heavenly 
charity, which distinguish that man, whose 
heart has been impressed by the grace of God. 
How solemn his sense of duty ! How ardent to 
declare the glory of his Saviour ! His views 
for the good of men, how disinterested and 
enlarged !— It is but too evident, that all our 
speculations concerning a divine Revelation, 
and the obligation imposed on us to study it 
ourselves, or to communicate it to others, are 
cold and uninteresting, and excite not to action, 
" until, through the tender compassion of God, 
" the Day-spring from on high visit us, to give 
" light to them that sit in darkness;"! to 
humble our hearts, at the remembrance of our 
sins against God, and to affect them with a just 
admiration of his pardoning mercy. 

Let Great Britain imitate the example of the 



* Daniel, 4th chapter. 



f Luke ii. 79> 



Conctustom 295 

Chaldean King; and send forth to all the world, 
he it testimony concerning the True God. She 
also reigns over many nations which " worship 
idols of wood and stone." Let her in like man- 
ner, declare to them " the signs and wonders 
of the Almighty." And, in this design every 
individual will concur, of every church, family, 
and name, whose heart has been penetrated 
with just apprehensions of the Most High God; 
having known his judgments and experienced 
his mercy. 



THE END. 



Kirby Hall, 
Bcroughbridge, Yorkshire. 
Feb. 15, 1811. 



O. Sidney, Printer, 
Northumberland -street strand. 



WORKS 



ON THE 



CIVILIZATION OF THE EAST. 

Sold chiefly by Mess. Cadell $ Davies, Strand, London, 



BEING 



The Compositions which gained the Prizes, or were present- 
ed to the Universities in competition for the Prizes, insti- 
tuted by Dr. BUCHANAN. 



Published in 1 805. 

1. Cambridge, — A GREEK ODE, on the Subject 
TENESGfl <Dftz, « Let there be Light." Ode Grjeca 
Pramio dignata quod donavit Academiae Cantabri- 
giensi Vir Reverendus Claudius Buchanan, A. B. 
Coll. Regin. Cantab, et Vice- Propositus Collegii 
Bengalensis in India Orientals Auctore G. Pryme, 
A, B. Trin. Coll. 



% Eton. — A GREEK ODE, on the Subject tenesgo 
onr, « Let there be Light." Ode Praemio a Reve- 
rendo Viro Claudio Buchanan, S. T. P. Eto- 
nensibus Proposito dignata. Auctore T. Rennell, 
Coll. Reg. Eton. Alumn. 

Glasgow. — COLLEGIUM BENGALENSE: Car- 
men cui Praemium Buchanan^um a Senatu Acade- 
mic Glasguensis adjudicatum est, Alexandr© 
Mac Arthur, Auctore, 



298 



4. £/on.— COLLEGIUM BENGALENSE : Carmen 

prasmio a Reverendo Viro Claud 10 Buchanan* 
S. T. P. Etonensihis Propisjto dignatum. Auctore 
G.P. Richards, Coll. Reg. Eton. Alumn. 

5. Edinburgh.— VATICINIUM GANGIS : Indiam Res 

Imperii antiqui lapsas indignatam, Ganges ex late- 
bris vocat, — Collegium Bengalense monstrat, — 
lsetiora multa vaticinatur ex Collegio condito oritura* 
A Thoma Brown, M. D.— Presented to the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh in 1805 : published in 1808. 

Aberdeen. — ODE in COLLEGIUM BENGALENSE ; 
Praemio dignata quod Alumnis Collegiorum Aberdq- 
iiensiwn proposuit Vir Reverendus Claudius Bucha- 
nan, Collegii Bengalensis Praefectus Vicarius. Auc- 
tore Alexandro Adamson, A. M. Coll. MarischaL 
Aberd. Alumno. — Published in 1808. 

7. Cambiidge. — A POEM on the RESTORATION of 

LEARNING in the EAST 3 which obtained Dr. 
Buchanan's Prize. By Charles Grant, Esq. 
M. A. Fellow of Magdalen College, Cambridge. 
Printed at the University Press, 1805. Price 3$. 6d. 

8, Cambridge. — A POEM on the RESTORATION of 

LEARNING in the EAST ,; by the Rev. Francis 
Wrangham, M. A. F. R. S. of Trinity College. 
Cambridge.*— Printed at the University Press., 1805., 
Price 3s. <Sd, 



299 

9. Edinburgh, — The RENOVATION of INDIA, a 
Poem. By Thomas Brown, M. D. Presented to 
the University of Edinburgh in 1805: published in 
,1808. In one volume, small 8vo. Price 6s. 



Published in 1 806. 

10. Glasgow.— An ESSAY on the best Means of CIVIL- 
IZING the Subjects of the BRITISH EMPIRE 
in INDIA, and of diffusing the Light of the Chris- 
tian Religion throughout the Eastern World,- to 
which the University of Glasgow adjudged Dr. 
Buchanan's Prize. By John Mitchell, A. M. 
In one vol. 4to. Price 15s. in boards. 

11- Cambridge.- A DISSERTATION on the best Means 
of CIVILIZING the Subjects of the BRITISH 
EMPIRE in INDIA, and of diffusing the Light of 
the Christian Religion throughout the Eastern 
World; which obtained Dr. Buchanan's Prize. 
By the Rev. Wm. Cockburn, A. M. Fellow of St. 
John's College, and Christian Advocate in the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge. Printed at the University 
Press, 4to. Price 35. 6d. 

12. Cambridge.-A DISSERTATION on the best Means 
of CIVILIZING the Subjects of the BRITISH 
EMPIRE in INDIA, and of diffusing the Light of 
the Christian Religion throughout the Eastern World. 



300 



By the Rev. Francis Wrangham, M. A. F. R. S< 
of Trinity College, Cambridge. Price 3s. Gd, 

13. Edinburgh-A DISSERTATION on the best Means 
of CIVILIZING the Subjects of the BRITISH 
EMPIRE in INDIA, and of diffusing the Light of 
the Christian Religion throughout the Eastern 
World: to which Dr. Buchanan's Prize was ad- 
judged by the University of Edinburgh. By the 
Rev. Wm. Tennant, M. M. LL. D. and M. A. S. 
lately one of his Majesty's Chaplains in India. Print- 
ed at the University Press. In one vol. 4to. Price, 
in boards, 12s.— This was published in 1808. 

H. Aberdeen*-* SKETCH of the State of BRITISH 
INDIA, with a view of pointing out the best Means 
of Civilizing its Inhabitants, and diffusing the Know- 
ledge of Christianity throughout the Eastern World: 
being the Substance of an Essay on these Subjects ; 
to which the University of Aberdeen adjudged Dr, 
Buchanan's Prize. By the Rev. James Brycb. 
In one vol. Svo. pp. 381. Price, in boards, 10*. Gd. 
This was published in 1810. 



Published in 1807- 

15. Cambridge. — A SERMON, on the Translation of 
the SCRIPTURES into the ORIENTAL LAN- 
GUAGES : preached before the University of Cam- 



SOI 



bridge, May 10, 1807. By the Rev. Francis 
Wrangham,M. A. F.R.S. of Trinity College, Cam- 
bridge. Printed at the University Press.— [This and 
the three following Sermons were not the subjects 
of Prizes, but a gratuity was presented to the four 
Reverend Preachers whom the Universities were 
pleased to select for the occasion.] 

Cambridge. — A SERMON, preached before the 
University of Cambridge, on the 28th June, 1807 ; 
agreeably to the Institution of the Rev. Claudius 
Buchanan. By the Rev. John Dudley, M. A. of 
Clare Hall, Cambridge. Printed at the University 
Press. 



\1> Oxford.— The Expediency of Translating our 
SCRIPTURES into several of the ORIENTAL 
LANGUAGES, and the Means of rendering those 
Translations useful, in an Attempt to convert the 
Nations of India to the Christian Faith: a Sermon 
preached by special appointment before the University 
of Oxford, Nov. 8th, 1807. By the Rev. Wm. Bar- 
row, of Queen's College, LL.D. and F.S.A. Author 
of an Essay on Education^ and the Bampton Lecture 
Sermons for 1 799. 

18. Oxford.— The DUTY and EXPEDIENCYof Tran^ 
lating the SCRIPTURES into the current LAN- 
GUAGES of the EAST, for the Use and Benefit of 
the Natives: a Sermon, preached by special Ap- 
pointment, before the University of Oxford, on 
the 29th pf November, 1807, By the Reverend 



302 

Edward Nares, M. A. late Fellow of Merton 
College, and Rector of Biddenden, Kent, 



Published in 1808. 

19. Oxford. — A DISSERTATION on the PROPAGA- 
TION of CHRISTIANITY in Asia ; in two parts. 
To which is prefixed a brief Historic View of the 
Progress of the Gospel in different Nations since its 
first Promulgation ; illustrated by a Chronological 
chart : To which the University of Oxford adjudged 
Dr. Buchanan's Prke of 500Z. By the Rev. Hugh 
Pearson, M. A. of St. John's College, Oxford. 
In one volume, 4to. pp. 2§7. Price, in boards, 15s. 
Printed at the University Press ; sold by Messrs. 
Rivington, London. 

20. Cambridge. — CHRISTIANITY in INDIA; an Essay 
on the Duty, Means, and Consequences of introduc- 
ing the Christian Religion among the Native Inhabi- 
tants of the British Dominions in the East. By J . 
W. Cunningham, A. M. late Fellow of St. John's 
College, Cambridge. In one vol. 8vo. Price 5s, 6d, 
in boards. 

21. Cambridge.— A HISTORICAL REVIEW of the 
Commercial, Political, and Moral State of Hindos- 
tan, from the earliest Period to the present Time; 
the Rise and Progress of Christianity in the East; 
its present Condition \ and the Means and Proha- 



SOS 



hilhy of its future advancement. With a Map, 
illustrating the relative Situation of the British Em- 
pire in the East. By Robert Chatfield, LL. B* 
Vicar of Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. In one large 
volume 4to. Price, in boards, ll. 4s, This Work 
was altered and enlarged after being presented to the 
University of Cambridge. 



Trinity College, Dublin, to which the prize-subjects 
were proposed, in common with the other Universi- 
ties of the United Kingdom, produced no Composi- 
tions. 



PUBLISHED IN INDIA, 

TIw Prizes instituted by the College of Fort- William, 

PRIMITIVE ORIENTALES, Vol. L Containing 
Essays by the Students of the College of Fort- 
William in Bengal : To which are added the THE 
SES pronounced at the public Disputations in the 
Oriental Languages, on the 6th of February, 1 802. 
The Essays are by W. B. Martin, W. P. Elliot, W. 
B. Bayley, Terrick Hamilton, C. T. Metcalfe, 
Edward Wood, Thomas Newnham, and Jonathan 
H. Lovett. The Thesis in the Bengalee Language 
by W. B. Martin. Thesis in the Hindostanee, 
Language by W. B. Bayley. 

" Redit a nobis Aurora diemque reducit '* 



304 



Calcutta: Printed at the Hon. Company's Press. 
In one volume 8vo. Price, in boards, One Guinea. 

PRIMITIVE ORIENT ALES, Vol. II. Containing 
the Theses in the Oriental Languages, pronounced 
at the Public Disputations, on the 29th of March, 
1803. By Students of the College of Fort- William 
in Bengal ; with Translations. Thesis in the Per- 
sian Language, by Richard Jenkins ; in the Hindos- 
tanee Language, by William Chaplin; in the 
Bengalee Language, by James Hunter. Declama- 
tions in the Arabic Language, by Richard Jenkins 
and Edward Wood. Printed at the Hon. Company's 
Press, in one volume 8vo. Price, in boards, One 
Guinea. 

. PRIMITLE ORIENTALES, Vol. III. Containing 
the Theses in the Oriental Languages, pronounced 
at the Public Disputations on the 20th of Sep- 
tember, 1804. By Students of the College of 
Fort William in Bengal ; with Translations. Thesis 
in the Hinclostanee Language, by John Romer; in 
the Persian, by George Swinton ; in the Bengahe, 
by A. B. Tod ; and in the Arabic, by William Oliver. 
Declamation in the Shanscrit Language, Clot- 
worthy Gowan ; being the first Speech in that Tongue 
delivered in public Assembly by an Englishman. 
Printed at the Hon. Company's Press; in one 
volume 8vo. Price, in boards, One Guinea. 



305 



A SERMON, Preached at the New Church, Calcutta 
before the Right Hon. the Earl of Morni^ton! 
Governor-General, on Thursday, February the 6th, 
1800: being the Day appointed for a GENERAL 
THANKSGIVING to Almighty God, for his late 
signal Mercies vouchsafed to the British Do- 
minions in Asia, in averting the perils which 
threatened them by the defeat of Tippoo Sultaun, 
and the final overthrow of the Mahomedan power 
in Hindostan. By the Rev. Claudius Buchanan, 
A. B. Chaplain at the Presidency of Fort- William. 

" Th * ima g^edsuch a device as they were not able to perform , 
Ps. xxi. li. 

Published by order of the Governor-General in Council 



Published by Messrs. Cadell and Da vies, 
Strand, London. 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 

h MEMOIR of the Expediency of an ECCLESIASTI- 
CAL ESTABLISHMENT for BRITISH INDIA. 

2. The First FOUR YEARS of the COLLEGE of 
FORT- WILLIAM in BENGAL. In one vol. 4to. 
printed by Bulmer. Price, in boards, 15*. 

x 



306 



*. The STAR in the EAST a a Sermon preached in the 
Parish Church of St. James, Bristol, (on Sunday, 
Feb. 26, 1809,) on the Author's return from India, 
The Eighth Edition. 

4. JUBILEE SERMONS t preached at Welbeck Cha- 

pel, London ; viz. 

The Mosaic Jubilee, 
The British Jubilee, and 
The Heavenly Jubileb. 
In one vol. 8vo. large type. Price 9s. in boards. The 
Second Edition. 

5. The THREE ERAS of LIGHT ; two Discourses, 

preached before the University of Cambridge, on 
Commencement Sunday, July 1st, 1810. With 
an Appendix on the Preparatory Studies for the 
Churches. Second Edition. 

6. The LIGHT of the WORLD,- a Sermon preached 

at the Parish Church of St. Anne, Blackfriars, 
London, on Tuesday, June 12, 1810, before the 
Society for Missions for Africa and the East. Third 
Edition. 

7- The HEALING WATERS of BETHESDA : a 
Sermon preached at Buxton Wells, to the Company 
assembled there for the benefit of the Medicinal 
Waters, on Witsuiiday, June 2, 1811. Price 2s, 



Dl -9 



3 47 7 7 



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